Hermione Granger: Accidental Time Traveler
by believer76
Summary: Hermione is thrown back in time by magic itself after the death of her two best friends. She wakes up in the presence of Gideon and Fabian Prewett and once she realizes that she's not in her own time anymore, she decides to make some changes so the future is a much brighter one.
1. Chapter 1

Hermione Granger: Accidental Time Traveler

Part 1

"Who do you think she is?" Gideon asked his brother softly, as he gazed down at the woman that was lying on the bed in his room.

He had found her not to far from his and Fabian's apartment. Gideon knew that she had been lucky to be found before morning because it had been dark out and she had been laying at the front of an alley. By morning due to her injuries she very likely would've been dead.

He couldn't help but wonder how she had come to be in such a strange state and he knew his twin was wondering the same thing, without even having to ask him. She was thin, nearly a emaciated, like she hadn't been eating decently for several months at least. Actually, she looked like she had been starving herself.

Fabian had called the Healer and had him check her over and found out that she was extremely undernourished just he and Fabian had thought and that she had quite a few injuries that luckily weren't as bad as they'd looked at first. Still, she had several breaks that had healed poorly like she hadn't had proper medical care. She needed more than a few decent meals the Healer had said, after he had managed to heal some of her more severe injuries including multiple burns and several cuts that had only scarred over, because they had not been treated properly.

This strange woman who neither him or his twin had seen before would be interrogated just as soon as she was up and about. At least she wasn't a Muggle as they had found a wand in her hand, which looked very well used.

They know they should inform Dumbledore about this strange woman but something stayed both their hands. They decided to wait at least until she woke up, but they couldn't keep from informing Dumbledore forever, as the headmaster had ways to discover things on his own.

"I don't really know," Fabian said with a frown. "I've never met her before, because I'm sure I would remember."

Fabian was a ladies man of the Prewett twins and while Gideon was no slouch he was more selective on who he dated than his brother. Fabian was attracted to almost anyone in the skirt, but he also tended to drop them after only a few weeks. Fabian's longest lasting relationship was six months and Gideon had been sure that his brother had finally found someone to marry. The relationship had ended rather abruptly just a week or so later and Gideon had never discovered exactly what could happened because Fabian refused to talk about it.

"Yeah, I would too," Gideon agreed. "She's pretty enough beneath all injuries and dirt."

"Don't go be getting attached to her until we discover who she is and where her injuries come from," Fabian warned.

"It was only an innocent comment, Fabian," Gideon snorted. "You know me better than that and that I'm not about to get involved with her until we discover who she is and whether or not she's a Death Eater or supports their cause."

"Alright, you're correct," Fabian agreed. "She doesn't carry the mark, not that means anything. Still, it is is at least a little reassuring."

"She could still be a sympathizer, even if she's not an actual Death Eater," Gideon agreed.

"One of us need to staying here in case she wakes up while the other get some sleep," Fabian said. "It's just a precaution until we know more about her."

Gideon didn't like it, but he nodded slowly knowing it was wise. For some reason he was strongly attracted the girl laying in the bed and he had no idea why.

"There are numerous possibilities if you think about it," Fabian said. "She might've been on the run for some time because the Healer said that she is quite a few pounds underweight. She might even have been running from Death Eaters for quite a long time."

"Yes, I am aware," Gideon agreed not being to able to help, but stare at the girl who he thought was beautiful despite her current condition. He wasn't exactly sure what attracted him too her. He only knew that he believed she was an innocent until proven otherwise. He wasn't about to tell his brother that though, because he knew Fabian would scoff. Fabian was the more suspicious of the two of them, guilty until proven innocent instead of a victim. Still, he was rarely wrong about someone's character, but on the other hand, he could be led in his sudden feelings cloud his judgment and he knew it.

"I'll stay," Gideon offered quietly. "You get some sleep and I'll come get you if she starts to wake up."

"Just don't let your feelings interfere in your duty," Fabian warned

Gideon silently cursed his brother in his head and Fabian gave him a knowing look.

His brother knew him too well, Gideon thought ruefully.

"I won't," Gideon promised with heat in his voice. "I would never put myself or you in danger, you know that. You know Molly would kill both of us if we did anything foolish. Me for being foolish in the first place and you for not stopping me."

"That's true, our sister does have a temper that's easily triggered," Fabian agreed easily. "Let's avoid that fate, shall we?"

"Absolutely," Gideon said fervently in agreement. "I won't say that she doesn't interest me, but I'm not about to get involved with her until we know one way or the other.

The twins gazed down at the girl who was still lying unconscious in the bed in a deep healing sleep and then Fabian left for his own room without a word while Gideon sat in the chair by the bed.

~~~Gideon, Hermione, Fabian~~~

Hermione came awake slowly wondering why she was laying on something soft. Last thing she remembered was running from some Death Eaters and one of them had shot an unknown spell at her. Her memories were extremely jumbled at the moment. Hermione concentrated on trying to sort out her memories until she was aware of someone leaning over.

"I know you're awake," said a male voice, she didn't recognize. It wasn't anyone she knew. This could either be good or very bad. She could be somewhere safe, but the more likely possibility was that she was in Death Eater hands. "You're safe miss," The voice added when Hermione didn't open her eyes or respond.

"You might say that, but that doesn't mean I believe you," Hermione finally said opening her eyes. "I've been fooled before and nearly been killed so let's you'll have to prove I can trust you."

Hermione stared into a pair of blue eyes.

"So your name?"

"Hermione Granger," Hermione said. "And what's yours, as I can't exactly call you hey you."

"Fabian Prewett," Fabian introduced himself.

Hermione just stared at him her brow farrowing in confusion. If she remembered right Fabian and Gideon Prewett had died sometime in 1980, there was no way that this could be one of Mrs Weasley's twin brothers as they had died over 20 years ago.

She said nothing though. She wasn't about to until she figured this situation out. She supposed it was possible that the Death Eaters spell had thrown her back in time, but that was so unlikely that she thought it was the least likely possibility. On the other hand, they had been losing—badly and she knew that Magic was alive in a sense. It was quite possible that Magic had thrown her back in time to correct things as the Death Eaters were destroying, not only magical Britain, but Muggle Britain as well and they were very close to breaking the Statute of Secrecy. It was only a matter of time. If the Muggles found out it would cause a cascade effect and it wouldn't be long before other cities all over the world learned about magic users living among them and the Statute of Wizarding Secrecy would be in shreds. It was quite possible that she had been thinking in her subconscious that if only she could go back in time to correct things before they got so bad and magic had responded. Of course, if that it happened she was probably stuck. Nobody would know her in this time because she didn't have a long wizarding heritage like her two best friends Harry Potter and Ron Weasley. In this time she was barely born since she had been born in late 1979 and it had to be some time before Gideon and Fabian had been killed by half a dozen Death Eaters, which should happen in July 1980 if she remembered correctly.

Fabian wondered why this Hermione Granger looked confused when he had introduced himself. It was almost as if she knew him from somewhere or at least knew his name, but no, that wasn't really it either, it was as if she had heard his name and been told that he was dead. But where she could've possibly gotten that idea from he didn't have a clue if what he was thinking was correct.

"I called Dumbledore," Gideon said coming into the bedroom. "He should be here momentarily."

Hermione tried to control her expression when she heard that she had been hoping to avoid Dumbledore notice for awhile longer, though she knew intellectually that she would have encountered him at some point. She had come to the conclusion just minutes ago that she was indeed over 20 years in the past, because it was the only reasonable explanation. She now recognized the Prewett twins from an old picture of the Order of the Phoenix. Even using Polyjuice wasn't possible if the subject a person wanted to change into was dead and they had been dead for over two decades

She knew that she was sometime in the late 70s, because the twins looked to be in their early 20s and they were younger then Molly by several years, even she wasn't exactly sure of the right year. For one thing Dumbledore was dead in her time and she was glad considering that he had made Harry's life in particular absolute hell. She probably hadn't been more than a year or so from dying unless she'd managed to survive that is, which was looking more and more unlikely each day. Now though, she was at least twenty years in the past, possibly more. Hermione thoughts turned back to Dumbledore and she was suddenly not happy about meeting someone she had considered one of the greatest wizard's in history until she had learned about how much he had screwed up other peoples lives.

Alright, it was likely he was probably a different man back 20 years ago, then he had been in her own time, but because of him the wizarding world was in chaos as his no killing policy was a real problem and even though he was dead his ideals still lingered on. Normally, Hermione was against killing to, but this was war and sometimes killing was necessary and instead of doing what had to be done Dumbledore had insisted that there be no killing not even to save your life just because it was morally wrong.

Hermione believed that Dumbledore was so determined to save the bad guys from themselves that he didn't care about the good guys or at least not as much as he did in supposedly saving souls. Yes, she mostly agreed that killing was wrong, but this was an unusual situation and not to kill your target gave Voldemort more resources. Dead men couldn't cause trouble after all, but they could be broken out of prison.

Hermione also knew that Dumbledore became so obsessed in Harry fulfilling prophecy the way he thought it should be fulfilled that Harry had been treated terribly and shoved back to his relatives every year after the end of the school year. Dumbledore had never taken the time to investigate Harry's claims of abuse because he was too obsessed with Voldemort being defeated and all his important positions hadn't helped the situation. He had never read Ms. Figg's reports or if he'd had he had ignored them as unimportant, because to Dumbledore Harry had been nothing more than a tool. Oh, Hermione was sure that the headmaster had cared about him in his own distant way, just not enough to interrupt whatever scheme he had come up with.

If she got a chance she was going to give her former headmaster a piece of her mind and also change things enough so Harry wouldn't lose his parents and if Dumbledore tried to stop her she was already planning how to deal with one of the most powerful wizard's that ever lived. She might not be as strong as Dumbledore magically, but she was certainly just as intelligent, if not more so. Also she wasn't obsessed with things turning out in a specific way.

"Well, our guest seems to recognize the name," Gideon said, as he saw Hermione's expression, even if it was very fleeting.

"Most magicals have at least heard of him, even if they've never met him personally," Fabian said. "By the way, our guest name is Hermione Granger."

"Never heard of her," Gideon said. "So where do you come from Miss Granger? Did you go to Hogwarts?"

"I did actually," Hermione answered.

"What house were you in, because I certainly don't remember you," Fabian said, "and you appear to be around our age, give or take a couple of years anyway and therefore, you should've gone to school with us."

Hermione sighed mentally knowing that she should've lied but then decided that wasn't wise, because she was sure that Dumbledore would bring some truth serum and probably use Legilimency on her as well and she didn't have the skills to block him out completely.

She would have to take the serum she knew to prove she had good intentions and that she wasn't a Death Eater. Considering that she was only a baby right now or maybe not even born well they would soon know that she came from the future anyway.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you, so we might as well wait for Dumbledore, as I'm sure he'll be bringing some truth serum with him," Hermione said.

"Sounds like you know Dumbledore," Gideon said sounding suspicious.

"I do, quite well actually," Hermione admitted. "However, my story is so unbelievable that I think that only with Veritaserum will you believe what I have to say."

"What could possibly be so unbelievable?" Fabian asked.

"Would you believe that I was actually born in 1979, September 19th?" Hermione asked with a totally serious expression.

Gideon and Fabian looked at each other and knew that their guest truly believed it, but time travel on that scale was supposedly impossible, but hen they should've known that nothing was truly impossible with magic, as they came from a long line of witches and wizards

"So you're telling us you're from the future. That seems a little unbelievable," Gideon said in disbelief.

"And didn't I already say you wouldn't believe me without application of truth serum?" Hermione pointed out, keeping the smugness out of her voice. There was no point antagonizing her hosts after all.

"She got us there, Gideon," Fabian said. "She did tell us straight out that we wouldn't believe her without using Veritaserum."

"I'm well aware of how unbelievable it is," Hermione said. "And believe me, I did try to go back in time deliberately. That's all I'm willing to say on the matter as I'm not about to tell my story twice."

"Why?" Gideon asked.

"Because it brings up too many bad memories. Its long, it's sad and it's horrible. A lot of things could've been prevented if not for certain factors," Hermione said. "I have no doubt I'm going to have nightmares as it is after I tell you what the future is really like all because of the machinations of certain people."

The twins got the impression that Hermione was talking about Dumbledore, even if she didn't say so. They would soon see that they were right in their suspicions.

Just there there was a voice yelling from the fireplace and Hermione recognized it instantly.

One of the twins left the room and Hermione thought it was Gideon, but she wasn't entirely sure.

"What year is it?" Hermione asked the remaining twin.

The twin that Hermione thought was Fabian look at her strangely but then answered, "It's 1979 Miss Hermione."

The young woman in front of him seemed to absorb the information rapidly and nodded to herself as if she had expected it.

"Month?"

"February 21," Fabian answered.

"I'm not even born yet and won't be for nearly 7 months," Hermione said sighing. "Of course, I have no idea what will happen since I'm affecting the timeline. Mom should already be pregnant, so soon there will be two Hermione Grangers. I'm not exactly sure what that will mean for the timeline, since it's usually isn't possible to come so far back."

"Yeah, you said your birthday's in September," Fabian said.

"The 19th," Hermione reminded Fabian of what she had said earlier.

Fabian didn't get a chance to reply as Gideon returned with a much younger Dumbledore tow.

Hermione kept her expression neutral with difficulty, though all she wanted to do was hex the old wizard into oblivion. He was the man that had caused her best friend so much pain, even if it hadn't technically happened yet and wouldn't if she had any say in the matter. Here was the man who hadn't cared what Harry wanted and manipulated him instead of giving him the honest truth. Here was the man that had ignored all the obvious signs of abuse to caught up in his obsession with the prophecy to pay attention to a child's pain and unhappiness. Harry had never even had counseling because that would've shown Dumbledore as incompetent, something the old man would never allow, though she supposed she might be being unfair for this was a much younger version of the wizard she had known.

"Well, Ms. Granger, Gideon was just filling me in on your sudden appearance," Dumbledore said speaking to the young lady on the bed.

"I suspected he was, headmaster," Hermione said politely her tone and expression neutral.

Hermione suddenly felt a brush of Legilimency and she raised her shields.

"Stay out of my head headmaster, as not only is it rude to use Legilimency on someone it's also highly illegal. If you want to know something ask instead of trying to just pull it out of my head without me knowing," Hermione said her tone sharp and scolding and Dumbledore looked rather disconcerted that he had been pushed out so firmly.

Hermione's tone was chiding and Dumbledore tried his best not to blush of being caught. He didn't get embarrassed about much, but he had to admit what he had been doing was not only illegal, it was rude as well, unless he suspected that she wasn't telling the complete truth about some sort of illegal activities. Underneath the chiding tone Dumbledore sensed the disdain and he wondered what he had done to this young lady in the future for her to dislike him so much as they had apparently known each other quite well.

"So are you ready, Ms. Granger?" Dumbledore asked after quickly recovering from his embarrassment.

"Yes, but promise me you won't ask anything that doesn't involve how I got here. No personal questions while on the truth serum, as that would be an invasion of privacy," Hermione requested.

All three men promised and Hermione nodded knowing that they'd keep that promise, because she would remember what she said when she was given the antidote to the Veritaserum and she would have every right to be steaming mad if they betrayed her trust.

She was sure that they didn't want to be hexed into oblivion as she was quite handy with a wand in her hand. She had to be or she wouldn't have survived for as long as she had.

Of course, she was well aware that Dumbledore could Obliviate her, but then he would need to Memory Charm the twins as well and she couldn't see him doing that and Fabian and Gideon would never allow him to as they were Aurors after all.

Hermione allowed Dumbledore to apply three drops to her tongue and they were absorbed quickly.

"What is your name?" Dumbledore asked.

"Hermione Jean Granger," Hermione answered in a monotone that was an indication that the truth serum was working.

"What month and year were you born?"

"September 19th, 1979," Hermione answered.

The twins and Dumbledore looked at each other and knew that this woman had been telling the truth even if it was hard to believe.

"Why did you come back?" Dumbledore asked next.

"I didn't try to," Hermione answered in the same monotone. "I was being chased by Death Eaters my best friends had already been killed by them. I was the last one left, the last one that knew."

"Do you know how you came back?" Gideon asked suddenly.

"Not really," Hermione answered. "I remember running and I remember some kind of silent spell being thrown at me. I never heard the people chasing me speak. I do have several theories, but I haven't really had enough time to think about it, since I've only been awake such a short amount of time."

"Are you a Death Eater?" asked Dumbledore.

"No," Hermione answered.

"Have you ever followed the Dark Arts?" Dumbledore asked.

"No and in fact they make me sick," Hermione answered.

"Do you believe in pureblood supremacy," Gideon asked.

"No, because for one thing I'm Muggle-born and the Death Eaters want me dead just because I proved that I'm smarter than their children time and time again. Besides, they wanted my best friend dead and there was no way I was going to allow that to happen if I could prevent it. I am extremely well known in my time not only because I'm at the top of the charts where my grades are concerned but because I'm a friend to Harry."

"What happened to You-Know-Who in your time?" Fabian asked.

"He was defeated by Harry. However, his Death Eaters were determined to get revenge and while the ministry rounded up a lot of them some of the most dangerous escaped. My other best friend Ron was taken out the first, though he managed to take a couple of Death Eaters with him. Harry and I were on the run for some time but finally a Death Eater got in a lucky shot. He died in my arms. It didn't help that both of us were exhausted, starving, so our reflexes were slowed as we had been on the run for some time eating what we could find that was edible, as we had run out of food that I had packed. I knew I had a mission to complete but without Harry I felt that it was hopeless. I never even had a chance to mourn my two best friends, as I was too busy surviving."

"I think that's enough headmaster," Fabian finally said satisfied. "We know she's not on the dark side nor will she ever join the Death Eaters and that's all we really needed to know."

"I have to agree, as the rest should be offered freely not while under truth serum," Gideon said.

"Just one more question," Dumbledore said calmly. "What are your intentions?"

"Well, since I was thrown into the past against my will and without my knowledge I might as well make sure that the future turns into a much brighter one than the one I left behind. The Death Eaters of my time are very close to shattering the Statute of Secrecy. Things have to change before that occurs for the Muggle World is going to find out about us and not just in England but all over the world. Word will spread like wildfire as Muggles have ways of communicating that is much faster then owl post. It won't be more than a few months before the whole world knows about the magical communities all over the world if things aren't changed. I might not have planned to come back, but now that I'm here I'm going to make some much-needed changes. I will not have Harry's and Ron's deaths mean nothing as they sacrificed themselves for a community that did not appreciate them."

Dumbledore nodded finally and gave Hermione the antidote to Veritaserum.

Hermione returned to normal shaking her head a little to clear the content from her mind.

"Perhaps you could give us some details exactly what happened in the future," Gideon suggested.

"Well, for one thing I know the two you die in about a year and a half. You're taken out by half a dozen Death Eaters. Your death affects your sister Molly deeply to where she becomes extremely overprotective of her own children to the point that she tries to control their every move, even those that are of age. I believe that Bill and Charlie got jobs outside of England just to avoid that overprotectiveness."

"That's why you looked so confused when you heard my name earlier," Fabian realized. "We are dead in your time so you must have realized seeing us that either we were either imposters or you had traveled some 20 years into the past."

"I also recognized you as Moody showed me, Harry and Ron an old photograph of the Order of the Phoenix and he explained how many members had died in the first war including Edgar Bones and his wife who you have a chance to save. I think that happens pretty soon after yours actually. Their daughter Susan was only around two when it happened. She was taken in by her aunt, Amelia Bones."

"You know about the Order?" Dumbledore asked and Hermione nodded.

"Me and my friends were never members as we weren't of age, but we stayed at their headquarters because it was the only safe place. You died in our sixth year which was 1996 due to a vicious curse. After that, everything went to hell, not that it hadn't been bad before, but things got much, much worse. After your death and Voldemort figured that there was no one powerful enough to stop him, so he started attacking soft targets, mostly Muggle-borns, but also a few Muggle. It didn't take him long to build up his forces and break his most loyal Death Eaters out of Azkaban. The ministry did nothing, because they were incredibly corrupt and there were a lot of Death Eaters or at least sympathizers in key positions. Harry, Ron and I went on the run right after Bill's wedding as the ministry had been taken over by the Death Eaters and Voldemort himself. We had been planning to go hunt down certain objects anyway, objects that was stopping Voldemort from dying."

Dumbledore looked rather upset of that piece of information and Hermione suspected that he knew what Voldemort had done to turn himself immortal.

"Maybe we should head to my office," Dumbledore suggested.

Hermione simply gave him a disdainful look. "No, because personally, I don't trust you. I know very well that you suspect what Voldemort did too gain immortality and you're trying to get me to shut up about it or at least keep the information need to know. If I do things your way things will end up either just the same or worse than they were. I know your MO as I knew you quite well in my time. You're wait and see attitude makes me sick, as so many deaths can be attributed to it. You hold information so close to yourself that by the time you choose to reveal it is normally too late to save someone."

"Why do you dislike me so much? It's got to be more than what you have revealed," said Dumbledore.

Hermione studied Dumbledore for a moment then conceded, "Why do I dislike you so much? At first I worshipped you as I had read all about you. I admit I believed in authority figures back then and though all of them were perfect, incapable of making major mistakes. However, I then became best friends with Harry Potter. There'll be a prophecy sometime in 81 that will concern one of two boys. I won't tell you what the prophecy says, but I will tell you that you make my best friend's life absolute hell. He never had a chance to be truly happy because after his parents were murdered you decided in your infinite wisdom the place him with the Dursley family. Lily's sister and her husband absolutely loath magic and you placed a magical child in their home. You never bothered to check up on him and I'm assuming you never read Ms. Figg's reports because you her placed down the street in order to watch over Harry. You claimed that he would be safe there and he was not. He was abused in every possible way mentally, physically, emotionally. Even after he came to school and told you he didn't want to go back you kept insisting that he did. You ignored every single sign of the abuse, so obsessed with that blasted prophecy that you didn't seem to care about Harry himself. To you he was nothing more than a tool or weapon and you didn't even seem to care if he died because you never trained him at all. I will never let that happen," Hermione said, as her magic began to swallow around her making the twins and even Dumbledore back off. "I will make sure his parents survive and perhaps get all those Horcruxes before that stupid prophecy is ever uttered by a batty old seer that can't see past the end of her nose. He might not be my best friend in this time but I will make sure he has a happy childhood unlike in my original timeline. Thanks to you, his magic was weakened because he was malnourished for most of his life, beaten and starved. The Dursleys fed him on scraps and locked him in the cupboard under the stairs. He was made to do every single chore while their own kid was free to harass him. They barely fed him or gave him water, even when he had been working out in the hot sun and the future you was damn lucky he didn't die, that magicals tend to be so sturdy due to their magic. If it wasn't for his magic healing his more severe injuries he never would've lived to even have come to Hogwarts because of a senile, old man that thought he knew what was best for everyone. You ignored his parents will thinking you knew best and I won't allow that to happen this time. I've intensely disliked you ever since I found out the extreme abuse that Harry suffered and that you were responsible if only by proxy. When I learned about Harry's homelife, not to mention what happened at school every year we attended cured me of thinking all authority figures are perfect. Be very glad I don't hex you until nobody recognizes you as Albus Dumbledore and the only reason I don't is because right now I need you. Believe me, if I didn't, you would be in St. Mungo's for very long time as they undid the damage."

Dumbledore actually looked worried, because the power was just pouring off Hermione Granger and her voice had taken on a certain tone that told him she absolutely meant what she said. He wasn't exactly sure if he could beat her, although he was supposedly the strongest wizard alive, but then again he was also an old man now and his power had waned somewhat the older he got. This young lady had been fighting for years apparently even during her time at Hogwarts, so he had no doubt that her reflexes were razor sharp and she might even be faster than he was, especially since old age had slowed his reflexes down a lot.

The twins for their part were watching Hermione in awe as they had never seen anyone take on the headmaster like she was doing. The power radiating off her was just awesome and they knew she would be a tough opponent to beat, so they'd much rather be on her side instead of a an enemy.

"I also have other crimes to lay at your door as you flung an innocent man in prison without a trial, because of the evidence stacked against him, and evidence or not he still should've been afforded a trial and you were partially responsible for that decision. You had the power to make sure he got a trial, but since he was Harry Potter's godfather and you were determined to control him whether you had that right or not you left him to rot. Not only was Harry abused in every way, he barely knew what love was and when he started to get close to his godfather he was killed. I won't allow that to happen either, even if I have to hex you until you listen."

Dumbledore nodded believing her because while she had calmed down a lot there was still power radiating off her. He could see that Hermione was determined to not only protect her best friend from the future, but also make sure and innocent man didn't land in the hellhole that was Azkaban.

"Perhaps we could discuss some things so that we can prevent as many things as possible," Dumbledore suggested and was relieved when Hermione nodded seeming to calm down.

"I will be able to tell you who the traitor in the Order of the Phoenix is and it is someone you would never suspect," Hermione said by way of agreement.

"I'll go retrieve my Pensieve from my office and we can get started," Dumbledore said.

"Don't take too long headmaster," Hermione said. "We have an opportunity to prevent quite a few tragedies from happening so the sooner we get started the better. I'm well aware I won't be able to save everyone that dies in this time as not only do I not know the information of how certain people die, like where when, how. From what I've read some people are just meant to die no matter what so you can't save them, because their deaths are significant in some way. Even if they don't die like they did originally, because someone interfered fate will make sure that they die in a different way. Its just a theory that I read about in a book in the future," Hermione added when the twins look at her strangely. "It won't be published for about 10 years, so you won't find it, even if I gave you the title."

Hermione didn't mention that she had a copy in her beaded bag and in fact she had quite a few books as well as clothes and money in that bag is well, as it had Undetectable Expansion Charm on it so it held as much as she wanted it to. Practically her whole life was in that bag.

Dumbledore threw a pinch of Floo Powder onto the flames and disappeared, once all of them had walked into the living room where the fireplace was located.

Once Dumbledore was gone Fabian said, "Wow! You were awesome. I have never seen anyone rant at Dumbledore like you did."

"Believe me he's very lucky I didn't hex him into oblivion," Hermione snorted in contempt. "Now, if you don't mind I'm going to go get myself a shower and change my clothes before Dumbledore gets back. I feel like I haven't had a shower in forever."

"Well I'm sure you can find a bathroom as the apartment isn't that big," Gideon said.

"We can loan you some clothes that you can shrink to fit you until you can get some of your own, as we know you were able to clean anything with you from the future," Fabian offered.

"We could also Floo our sister and have her loan you a few things," Gideon suggested.

"That would require an explanation that I'm not ready to give anyone else yet," Hermione said. "Oh, eventually, I'll reveal to certain people that I'm not from this time, but not yet. Don't worry about me I have an extra set of clothes in my beaded bag."

"How, it looked empty when we put it off to the side so wasn't in the way," Fabian asked looking confused.

"And it's on the isn't big enough to hold very much," Gideon added.

Hermione grinned mysteriously and went to retrieve a bag that was laying on the chair in the guestroom. She simply stuck her hand into the bag and when her arm disappeared Gideon and Fabian looked at her in amazement.

"How?" the twins asked together.

"Undetectable Expansion Charm," Hermione explained. "My own invention if you must know. I needed a way to carry a lot of things, because Harry, Ron and I were on the hunt for those objects I mentioned for quite sometime. We often camped out in the open. My whole life is practically in this bag, books, clothes, camping equipment. Unfortunately, no food."

"Wow!" said the twins awed.

"Now, that's a really spectacular piece of magic," Gideon said.

"Thank you," Hermione said blushing a little, as she wasn't used to being complemented for her genius. In fact, she was more used to being ridiculed, just because she wasn't a pureblood. According to the dark pureblood faction in her time her intelligence didn't matter just because she was Muggle-born and therefore lower then almost anyone except for creatures like house-elves, and centaurs. The purebloods would rather be inbred than marry someone with Muggle blood in their veins, no matter how it lowered their children's intelligence and brought out some of the worse traits of their family lines. Magic could do a lot that was true, but there was only so much that magic could accomplish. Magic made sure that the child wasn't disfigured mostly anyway, but there were more and more Squibs being produced in her time and Hermione knew this was mostly due to inbreeding. It didn't matter though because the purebloods wouldn't listen to her, especially since this information came from the Muggle world, so she wasn't going to worry about it. When the darker families died out due to lack of heirs, she would consider it justice considering all the crimes some of those families had committed. Some of those families hadn't committed any serious crimes just sat on the sidelines, but that didn't mean that they were going to stop inbreeding then she had no sympathy for those people either.

Hermione headed to the bathroom with her bag over her shoulder and the twins heard the door click shut.

"She's something else," Gideon said once he heard the shower running. "Intelligent, sweet, kind..."

"Alright, you don't have to list her attributes," Fabian said. "Believe me, I can tell you have a crush on her and if you want to date her then that's fine, now that we know that she's not a Death Eater or a believer in pureblood superiority."

"Yes, we now know that she was thrown back to the past accidentally, although I didn't know such a thing was possible," Gideon said.

"Neither did I, but I'm sure Dumbledore already's trying to figure out how it happened," Fabian said.

"She was scary when her power was just swirling around her," Gideon said in an awed tone. "She went against Dumbledore like a lioness protecting her cubs."

"I can't really blame her actually, if what she was ranting about was true," Fabian said. "She's been through hell and she saw the deaths of her two best friends and probably most everyone she knew even slightly. Also she learned that one of her best friends had been severely abused by his supposed family, a position that the headmaster supposedly put him in."

"Do you disbelieve her?" Gideon asked.

"Not really," Fabian admitted. "Mostly because of the way she got so angry and not on her own behalf, but for her friend. It's that anger that makes me know that she was telling the truth as she knew it. You don't lose control your magic for no reason and from the short time I've known her I get the impression that she's normally the calm and patient type. I truly believe that she would hex the headmaster into oblivion if she didn't need him. It's just kind of hard to believe that the man we were taught to respect as children would do something like that."

"It's quite possible he went senile in the future and nobody noticed," Gideon suggested. "That does happen even to witches and wizards and Dumbledore's not exactly a young man."

Fabian considered that then found he agreed with his brother, which wasn't all that surprising really. "That's entirely possible," Fabian admitted. "Of course, it's also possible that he just changed from the man we know now. He's not young anymore as he's over 100 and he is under a lot of pressure with his three prominent positions in the wizarding world. It's quite possible that the pressure got to him and nobody realized that he was no longer the Albus Dumbledore they had known."

"There's no point to speculating really as we don't know what happened in the future other than what Hermione has told us," Gideon said.

"I'm sure she'll tell us more in time," Fabian said.

"She seems determined to change things so that the war doesn't happen, at least not on the same scale as she apparently dealt with," Gideon said.

"I can't really blame her, because what little we heard was bad enough," Fabian said.

"She said we died in 80," Gideon agreed knowing exactly his twin was talking about. "We are going to have to try our best to prevent that."

Gideon shuddered as his imagination went into overdrive as it kept giving him scenarios on how he and Fabian died, each worse then the last.

"Now that we know we'll make sure we do," Fabian said with more confidence then he felt. "So are you going to ask her out on a date?"

"Is that's all you ever think about?" Gideon teased knowing very well that Fabian thought about women a lot.

"Yes," Fabian answered simply and Gideon couldn't help himself he grinned.

"As to your original question, I probably will, at some point, but let's give her a chance to recover from her injuries and get acclimatized to this time. There's no need to push things. Yes, I'll admit, that I like her, but I'd like to get to know her better before I make any decisions. She's incredibly brave for one thing. She's been fighting a war basically since she was 11, even if it wasn't as bad when she was younger. Still, I bet you, all the signs of war were there for those who knew how to interpret them."

"I bet you anything she was a Gryffindor," Fabian said with a quirk of his lips.

"It doesn't matter whether she was or not, because from what I can see could've been a Ravenclaw as well, even a Hufflepuff. I think she would've fit into any of the houses including Slytherin because she likely would've had to be very cunning to survive all that she has."

"War changes people," Fabian said soberly.

"Yes, it does," Gideon said softly seeming lost in thought.

Neither twin said anything else as they heard they both seemed caught in their thoughts while waiting for their guest to emerge.

"This conversation will stay between us, right brother?" Gideon asked and Fabian nodded.

"There's no reason to let Dumbledore know or anybody else for that matter, not unless it becomes necessary," Fabian agreed. "There is no need to reveal what we talked about, as it's personal between us and doesn't involve the war."

Gideon nodded glad that his brother agreed with his request, but then he had heard the same things he had so it shouldn't be surprising.

It didn't have to be said that they didn't trust Dumbledore as much as they had used to, mostly because of a bushy brown haired girl with matching brown eyes.

Their eyes had been well and truly opened to his machinations and Machiavellian ways.

~~~Gideon, Hermione, Fabian~~~


	2. Chapter 2

Part 2

"Good afternoon, Miss Granger," Dumbledore greeted the woman who was now sparkling clean and looking much more relaxed. She was wearing a different set of clothes that we're not torn or unclean in any way and Dumbledore wondered if she had simply transfigured something. The clothing was certainly unusual for this time, especially for the wizarding world, but Dumbledore assumed that this was normal for her time.

The Prewett twins couldn't help but look at Hermione admiringly, even though the girl in question didn't seem to notice.

"Good afternoon, sir," Hermione said politely. "Shall we get started?"

"Perhaps we should eat first," Fabian suggested. "You're way too thin and you haven't eaten since you woke up."

"Let's not waste the headmaster's valuable time I can eat afterwards," Hermione said firmly.

Dumbledore took that in the way it was meant and that was this young lady from the future was willing to work with him, but wanted to spend as little time with him as she could manage and he couldn't really blame her considering what he had learned. He had apparently made many mistakes not to far in the future and apparently continued to make those mistakes, even as they got bigger and bigger every time. He had apparently ignored every sign of a child needing help, simply because he was part of a much bigger picture. He had likely brushed aside that child's concerns as he apparently hadn't listened when Hermione's friend had tried to tell him about the abuse. It was, of course, possible that it had been Madam Pomfrey, the school Healer who had tried to warn him. If that was what had occurred then he had likely brushed aside Poppy's concerns and told her half truths in order to get her to not report said abuse, something he knew he was capable of if he felt it was the best course of action. He had no doubt that his friend Minerva had torn him a new one if she had learned of his actions and what had occurred because of them, as she was very protective of her cubs and he had no doubt that Harry Potter had been a Gryffindor like his parents.

She also apparently knew that he used Legilimency on a regular basis and that was another reason she didn't trust him, mostly because she already knew that he was willing to use it against people for no particular reason. He did like to have as much information as possible and he knew it was wrong to use Legilimency on people unless he suspected them of some kind of crime and even then, it was on the borderline of being illegal. Even a passive scan was not exactly legal except in certain situations. It was a bad habit to get into, using such a talent all the time and he now realized he had fallen into that trap. It was just so much easier most the time to read somebody's thoughts the ones that weren't protected by Occlumency, which included at least 98% of the magical population. Legilimency was a very rare talent, but then so was Occlumency, as both took patience and dedication to learn and most of the wizarding population simply didn't have either one and short attention spans as well.

He would just have to prove that he wasn't the same man that he was 20 years from now and hopefully, he could get this Hermione Granger's trust. He had a feeling that Miss Granger didn't trust very easily and that that trust had to be truly earned, but considering what little he knew about her at the moment he couldn't blame the young woman for that.

"Very well, I have brought my Pensieve," Dumbledore said calmly not revealing his own turbulent thoughts. Dumbledore unshrunk the silver bowl that was etched with runes and put it on the kitchen table

"Do you know how to remove your thoughts, Miss Granger, so they can be viewed in the Pensieve?" Dumbledore asked.

"Yes, sir," Hermione answered ever so politely. Hermione proceeded to remove quite a few memories from her mind and dropped each one into the bowl.

"I think it is better if we watched them above instead of actually entering the Pensieve itself," Dumbledore said.

"Whichever way is fine with me, sir," Hermione said.

Dumbledore proceeded to push some runes on the side of the bowl and the memories preceded to play one by one.

All four of them watched as a much younger Hermione entered Hogwarts for the first time making friends with Harry and Ron, all their adventures and where the staff dismissed whatever the danger was that year, just because it came from kids, kids who tended to know more about what was going on in the school then the adults. They watched, as the three children passed all the traps that led to the Sorcerer's Stone and how Harry went on alone through the final doorway. Hermione showed every memory she thought was relevant and it took several hours to view them all.

"I also have Harry's memories as he had me extract them one by one and put into crystal vials," Hermione said once everything was shown. "He gave them to me and I put them into my beaded bag."

"How?" Dumbledore asked, as he saw how small the bag was.

"Undetectable Expansion Charm," Hermione answered simply, as she reached into the bag, much deeper than she should've been able to go.

"It's her own invention," Fabian told Dumbledore. "She said she needed a way to carry a lot of things as she knew she would likely have to carry numerous items when she and her friends left to go on the run."

"Backpacks would've been too heavy and wouldn't of carry as much, even with Feather-light Charms," Hermione explained simply. "I have everything from camping supplies, to books, to clothes in here. Since I knew in advance that Harry, Ron and I would likely have to camp a lot I came up with this idea. It used to have food too, but we ran out of that quite a long time ago."

She didn't mention how Ron kept complaining that he was hungry all the time so she had fixed more than was advisable.

"Your friend looks like one of my nephews?" Gideon said, asking for confirmation.

"He is," Hermione confirmed. "He won't be born for months. Your sister will be pregnant with him soon."

"So anymore after, Ron?" Fabian asked curiously.

"One more and this time, its the girl, that both your sister and her husband wanted. I won't tell you anymore than that not even her name. You'll just have to wait and see."

Both twins looked disappointed, but they also understood that Hermione was trying not to tell them any more than necessary about the future as it might change things that shouldn't be.

"So seven kids," Dumbledore said amused.

"Yes, you'll have a lot of trouble from the twins in particular," Hermione said with mischievous sparkling eyes. "Lucky for you, they won't be coming to Hogwarts for quite a few years yet, so you have time to prepare."

"I'll take your advice under advisement," Dumbledore said his eyes twinkling as well.

Hermione simply rolled eyes and didn't respond.

"If you want to continue we can watch them now or whenever you're free as it's not like I have much to do right now. For one thing I never even finished my N.E.W.T.s because I was on the run. Voldemort took over the school my last year and they weren't allowing people with my blood to attend anyway and in fact, from what I understand those that didn't know what was happening got on the train like normal, but were removed. Those Muggle-borns were never seen again, though they were likely shipped to camps where they were being placed, much like the Nazi concentration camps of decades ago. The only difference really is that the German Nazis hated Jews instead of Muggle-borns, but as you can see the idea is basically the same. In fact, Muggle-borns were thrown into Azkaban without a trial because as I said they took over the government. Dolores Umbridge took great delight in doing so, as she's a blood purist and hates anybody who isn't a pureblood. They actually had a Muggle-born registration committee. I heard that many people died while in Azkaban before Voldemort was killed and they could be released."

"We will prevent that from happening," Dumbledore said firmly and Hermione looked at him in surprise.

"I can't change what happened in your future as technically, the timeline you came from doesn't exist anymore," Dumbledore explained Hermione's questioning gaze. "I don't know how I became so...uncaring and manipulative. Perhaps it was just old age and stress, so that I just didn't have time to take in the little details, but even if that's true it doesn't absolve me from the part I played in your timeline. I'll try to do better, I promise."

"Alright then," Hermione said. "For now, I'll trust you, but that doesn't mean that I won't be watching you, very closely. I certainly want a better future, not just for myself, but for everyone, then what mine turned into. I already knew that I would likely be stuck here as I've read about time travel including every theory that somebody has come up with. So long as Harry grows up happy and I can save as many people as I can I'll be satisfied. I'll find a way to take my N.E.W.T.s."

"I can help you with that as well as establishing an identity in this timeline," Dumbledore offered.

"Thank you," Hermione said gratefully.

"So what house will you in and what were your grades for your O.W.L.s?"

"Let's see I took Defense, Charms, Transfiguration, History, Ancient Runes, Arithmancy, Astronomy, Care of Magical Creatures and Potions. I got an O in all of them."

"That's quite impressive," Gideon said truly impressed. "That's nine O.W.L.s and that they were all Outstanding is astounding."

"Thank you, I would've taken Muggle Studies or at least the exam, but it's dreadfully out of date as I did take it for a few weeks."

"Out of date miss Granger?" Dumbledore asked.

"Dreadfully so," Hermione confirmed. "Both History and Muggle Studies are utterly useless, but I needed the history for the career I wanted to go into. It doesn't have any modern examples from the last century. It doesn't mention space travel, televisions, computers, telephones, satellites or worldwide communications. It barely mentions automobiles or planes, which are far more advanced in the 20th Century then they are back when they were first invented. Now, I know, that some of the things I mentioned don't exist as of yet but they will. The course really needs to be updated if it's to be relevant to modern society. Magicals are starting to stand out more and more in my time because they don't know how to act, they don't know how to dress and that's only a couple of the problems. Of course, that's mostly the purebloods not the Muggle-borns or the half bloods unless those half bloods grew up entirely within the wizarding world. The Muggle world has advanced much more then the magical one in the time I came from. Witches and wizards are so stuck in the past that it's practically still the Victorian era instead of advancing like they should. If things don't change soon Muggles were going to find out about us due to sheer stubbornness and stupidity of a lot magicals who have supposedly refused to lower themselves to learn the basics at the very least."

"You have given me much to think about Miss Granger, Dumbledore said.

"I'm glad and I hope I'll see some changes being made," Hermione answered simply. "Of course, if you need advice you know where I'll be, but I say let us stop a war before we go about modernizing the wizarding world.

"Yes, let's concentrate on one set of problems at a time," Dumbledore agreed already seeing how brilliant this Hermione Granger was. "You are extremely intelligent Miss Granger something I don't see very often."

"I was considered the smartest witch of my age in my time," Hermione said modestly. "It's not that others aren't just as intelligent they just don't know how to think logically. They're not taught or encouraged to think for themselves so they mostly follow the party line. In other words, the strongest leader. Following someone who's on the right side would be fine, but it leaves you open for those who are to corrupt to take advantage of you. That's the way those in power want it, as they don't want change coming to the wizarding world, so they keep the status quo. More and more Muggle-borns are leaving the country in my time because they can't find jobs or mates because they don't have the proper bloodlines. The purebloods really have a tight grip on the country and refuse to give those they consider inferior to themselves any advantage. If one of them joined the ministry for example their advancements won't be as fast no matter how well deserved and that's only if they're allowed to advance at all. Often people who are unqualified for the jobs available are hired, just because they're purebloods, so it's no wonder that the ministry of my time is so messed up. Nepotism is often the name of the game."

"It's not quite as bad now, but yes, I know of the corruption you speak of and it apparently gets much worse 20 years or so from now," Dumbledore said.

"That's because you refuse to let your Order of the Phoenix kill all those who were Death Eaters no matter how many crimes they commit. Rapist and murderers are not going to turn back into upstanding citizens headmaster, not the ones that truly enjoy having that type of power. That's one of the reasons I dislike you so much. You seem to have this idea that you can reform the bad guys while you leave the good guys to try to fight with tools not adequate for the job. People have to want to change and these people are fanatics. They're not going to change just because you want them to no matter how hard you try. A lot of rapists have a compulsion to do it again and again and you're not going to change them into decent citizens. Voldemort, better known as Tom Riddle, is a psychopath and he is not going to suddenly change his ways and turn into the boy you knew as a student. The same principle applies to all his Death Eaters, except those that were forced to join or thought they had no other choice. I know you don't like to hear that you're going to get people killed unnecessarily as the bad guys buy their friends who are less flush out of trouble."

"Murder is wrong," Dumbledore protested and Hermione gave him a look of total disgust.

"For the most part I agree with you," Hermione said and Dumbledore looked startled that the young woman in front of him agreed with him, "but this is a time of war and you can't go just knocking out your opponents and put them in prison because there will be a prison break unless we prevent it. Even if we do a lot of Death Eaters buy their way out by claiming the Imperius Curse including Lucius Malfoy who then uses his gold to great effect to get even more bigoted laws passed among other things."

Hermione suspected that Lucius Malfoy had bribed the Minister of Magic to not give a trial to Harry's godfather, but she didn't know that for sure so she said nothing.

"She's right Dumbledore and you know it," Fabian finally spoke up. "Trying just to knock your opponent out while at war is a bad habit to get into. Dead men cannot come back and get you from behind nor can they be broken out of prison. In war things are different and if you manage to convince the Wizengamot to only allow Magical Law Enforcement to stun their opponents instead of killing them when they're trying to kill you then I'll quit first and I'll make sure most of the other Aurors follow me. I refuse to put my life on the line when we are not allowed to use lethal force. These Death Eaters aren't shoplifters headmaster they're deadly opponents that will kill you if they can."

"That's exactly what happens actually," Hermione said. "The Death Eaters kill so many Aurors that there isn't an adequate force to fight him, even when he returns over a decade later. Cornelius Fudge becomes Minister of Magic soon after the war and is so corrupt that he refuses to let Amelia Bones add more Aurors and says that Voldemort is dead. Because of his hiring freezes the ministry's forces are inadequate to fight Voldemort when he returns and they expect Harry Potter, the Boy Who Lived to do it for them with hardly any help at all. Because of your policy that most everybody follows there are many more death then there needed to be, not that you seem to care about that in my time. You always say it's for the greater good when it really isn't. I think you become so corrupted by all the power you hold that it goes to your head."

Dumbledore looked like he was about to protest an almost instinctive reaction, but suddenly he hung his head, because he knew very well that Ms. Granger as well as Fabian were right. He didn't like it and he knew that none of the others did either, but you couldn't just knock out your opponent, as it was way too dangerous. Apparently, he had never seen this in Ms. Granger's original timeline, as there had been no one to talk sense into him and if anybody had tried he hadn't listened. Now that he had seen what the future would be like unless certain things were changed made his opinions change. This was war and sometimes killing was necessary just to survive.

"I'm well aware I will be knocking out pureblood families, but it was their decision to join this maniac. A lot of pureblood families on our side were totally decimated doing the war including the McKinnons, the Meadowes and the Fenwicks. Totally wiped out. There were, more, but you get the point. Others were hanging by a thread with only one heir to the Potters, the Blacks, the Bones. If we don't kill off as many of the dark pureblood families as we can or at least imprison them they will keep blocking progress, progress that needs to happen if we are to survive as a society. I'd rather that happen when I'm fighting for my life rather then do so casually, because they are in the way of society advancing. In wartime atrocities such as murder can and are forgiven by governments, as it's considered patriotic at least in the Muggle world. It's considered defense of the country from people who are trying their best to take it over and suppress the peoples freedom's. This is the attitude we must adopt if we are to put these people exactly where they belong. By the way when you register me with the ministry you can call me Mia Granger instead of Hermione."

"Why Mia?" Gideon asked immediately.

"It's what Harry used to call me," Hermione explained simply. "Ron often called me Mione, which only annoyed me and the twins called me Herms when they wanted to be hexed. I'll simply be Mia Jean Granger, as Granger is a pretty common name in the Muggle world, so it won't be at all suspicious. By the way I was a Gryffindor just so you know."

"I'll see that you are properly registered," Dumbledore promised.

"Thank you," Hermione said politely.

It was then decided that they would view the future Harry's memories in a few days to give them time to absorb what they had learned so far and also to come to terms with all the violence they had witnessed.

Dumbledore left soon after taking his Pensieve with him and Hermione breathed a sigh of relief once he was gone.

The twins watched saying nothing as their guest wandered into the kitchen and begin fixing herself an early lunch.

Fabian looked at his brother raising an eyebrow and Gideon instantly understood what his twin was saying, even though he hadn't spoken a word.

"Can I fix you gentlemen anything?" Hermione asked suddenly startling the twins.

"Sure," Gideon said.

"We'll just have what you're having," Fabian added.

"Whatever you don't eat we can always preserve for later," Hermione said. "However, I've never known a Weasley that didn't have a bottomless pit for a stomach, except perhaps the girl that will be born in a couple years."

"Hey! We're Prewetts not Weasleys," Gideon protested with laughter in his eyes.

"True, but I thought that Ron at least might've gotten his appetite from your side of the family," Hermione said. "He could practically eat his weight in food or at least it seemed that way. He always seemed to be hungry. Now, I know part of that was just being a teenager, but I suspect that he always would have been a bottomless pit."

"Can we help?" Fabian asked.

"Sure, you can chop the tomatoes and onions for the salad," Hermione said.

The three of them worked in companionable silence for awhile and it wasn't long before Hermione was putting a well balanced meal on the table.

The three of them ate chatting cordially as they did so and Hermione thought that this was the most relaxed and happy feet at been in what seemed like 10 years. She knew that she didn't have to worry about the Death Eaters coming after her because they had no idea she existed at the moment. Of course, they would soon learn that she was a formidable opponent, but for now she could just relax and enjoy her meal in peace. A luxury that she had no intention of taking for granted.

~~~Gideon, Hermione, Fabian~~~

"Now that we have had a chance to recover from the other day I believe that you know what we need to go from here, Miss Granger," Dumbledore suggested.

Hermione, Fabian and Gideon were standing in the headmaster's office which was much better protected then the twins apartment.

"First do not trust Peter Pettigrew," Hermione began. "He is a spy and James and Lily will ask him to be their Secret-Keeper. He then betrays them and they are murdered by Voldemort just a few days after they go under the Fidelius Charm for their safety. Harry survives, but then as you know you made the lateral decision to place him with Lily's sister and her husband, because you believed that he would be protected."

"This was a very poor decision on my part apparently," Dumbledore sighed looking rather sad.

"You have a chance to correct that now," Hermione reminded the headmaster. "The Dursleys are not suitable guardians for a magical child or for any child really, not even their own son. Their son Dudley will be so obsess that he'll be in danger of serious health problems. A person can only have so much weight on their frames before they're in danger of strokes, or heart attacks or diabetes. Of course, that's Muggles, as I have no idea if magicals can get any such diseases. Secondly stop Sirius from going after Peter if he happens to escape, even if you have to stun him, as that's what happened last time you know. Hagrid refused to hand over Harry to his godfather on your orders and instead Sirius went chasing after Pettigrew. The Aurors didn't even bother to question him because he was just laughing in the middle of the street, but that's because Pettigrew had managed a fool him turn into his rat form and escape down a sewer pipe. They simply stunned him and when he woke up he was and Azkaban, no questioning, no trial. Pettigrew cut off his finger in the process on purpose so that that authorities would believe that Sirius had blown him up so that there was no body."

"I believe that James and Remus will stop him from doing anything so foolish because James and Lily won't die this time," Gideon said.

Hermione considered that and nodded. "You're right, I won't allow the Potters to leave their son an orphan this time and they can help control Sirius, as I know he has a wicked temper. He'll take Peter's betrayal personally, which will cause him to be rash. If you check Peter's inner left forearm you'll find the Dark Mark, though I don't actually know if he's taken it yet, so I would wait until we are absolutely sure he has," Hermione added to the headmaster who nodded solemnly. "I think he took it when he was in school, but I'm not positive.

"If I may ask why did Sirius refuse to be their Secret-Keeper? Dumbledore asked. "I am sure that James and Lily would have asked him first."

"He thought he was too obvious, as it was well-known that he and James were close as brothers. He agreed to play decoy while the real Secret-Keeper remained protected," Hermione explained. "One of the faults with that plan is it was believed that Remus was the spy and so they chose Peter thinking that no one would ever suspect him. Also another problem with the plan was the fact that they didn't tell anyone that they had switched Secret-Keepers at the last moment, which I believe is one of the reasons the future you thought Sirius was guilty headmaster. I suspect one of the other reasons is because he's a Black and most Blacks have been dark bar very few. Also, you knew how close Sirius was to James and couldn't even conceive of the fact that he might not have been the Secret-Keeper. While I can't blame you for making that type of assumption, I can blame you for not affording Sirius a trial despite the evidence stacked against him in my timeline. Assumptions are dangerous headmaster as they are not based on logical facts, but then I noticed that most magicals lack logic and don't know how to think for themselves. They make assumptions that often turn out to be wrong with no evidence whatsoever to support their conclusions."

Dumbledore didn't like hearing that, but he also knew that Hermione spoke the truth as most wizards seriously lacked any logical thought processes, something Miss Granger appeared to have figured out for herself.

"Second and this is very important, is you need to get magical oaths from members of the Order of the Phoenix so that they will not talk about the Order's business outside of meetings. This is something you didn't do before, which you should have, as it would have stopped anybody from betraying the cause. Even if they had decided to leave the group they never would have been able to talk about anything dealing with the Order to outsiders. I know you have a thing about trusting people, but this will also protect the members of the Order as well, because they cannot reveal anything, even under torture. Also, using Veritaserum to make sure that those joining the Order are doing so for the right reasons and are not spies would be prudent. Yes, I know very well it's illegal, but this is war and this will help protect people later on. Once you have been assured of people loyalty I will tell them about the future I come from."

"And the Horcruxes you mentioned?" Dumbledore asked.

"There should be four so far I believe. He makes a couple more later, but if he is taken out permanently they will never be created. They are Slytherin's Locket, Rowena's Diadem, an old diary that belonged to him as a teenager and Hufflepuff's Cup. He never did manage to find anything of Gryffindor's."

"How in the world did Tom ever discover three artifacts that have been lost for centuries," Dumbledore his expression rather perturbed. He knew that each precious artifact that should belong to the school would need to be destroyed.

"I've never heard of any of these items that Mia is talking about," Gideon who had been listening commented.

"They are artifacts of the founders of Hogwarts. They are absolutely priceless, but unfortunately, we'll now need to be destroyed by Fiendfyre."

"Fiendfyre is considered Dark Magic and is very hard to control," Fabian protested.

"There's also basilisk venom and I know just where to get some," Hermione mentioned. "I'm sure we can hire someone to render the carcass down once we kill the basilisk in the Chamber of Secrets."

They had all viewed the alternate Harry's memories last week so they knew all about the basilisk that was in the chamber.

"But you need Parseltongue to get in," Gideon mentioned.

"And none of us are Parselmouths," Fabian said.

"Still, the basilisk needs to be taken care of before somebody comes along and opens the chamber."

"That's a good idea if we can see you out a way to get in," Dumbledore said. "Maybe it's possible to replace the password that's in Parseltongue."

"I'll think about it," Hermione said. "Still, we've got to figure out a way to get into the chamber where the Basilisk sleeps as it's a danger to the students and there is no one that knows the language at least not that I'm aware of in the British Isles."

"Maybe we can trick that diary you mentioned into opening the chamber for us," Gideon suddenly suggested. "You said that that all these artifacts contain pieces of Voldemort soul."

"Or trick it into at least revealing whether of not there is another entrance."

"We may just have to blast our way past ancient enchantments in order to get access," said Hermione, "but still that is so crude and would destroy part of this ancient castle so I really don't want to have to do that."

"We should be able to repair most of the damage so it is barely noticeable if we have to," Dumbledore said and Hermione nodded slowly.

"I'll try to think of something with a little more fineness before we take the crude approach," Hermione said.

"So where are the other artifacts located?" Fabian asked.

"The locket should be in a cave that is protected by Inferi. The cave should be close to where those in charge of the orphanage where Tom Riddle resided took them on vacation."

"I thought you found it at Grimmauld Place?" Dumbledore asked.

"That was years later and we have a chance to save the life of Sirius's brother Regulus. He died this year, although I'm not precisely sure what month. He is beginning to doubt his allegiance to the Dark Lord and really his parents forced him to take the Mark, particularly his mother and unlike Sirius, he just wasn't strong enough to go against what his parents wanted. That is one life I can immediately save. In my time, Regulus stole the locket and replaced it with a fake. It will be contained in a potion that has to be drunk in order to get to the locket and that made you want to die and weakened you considerably. You never really had time to recover from consuming the potion. I remember Harry telling me that you demanded water after you finished drinking the potion, but that every time he tried to do the Aguamenti Charm on the cup the water disappeared as soon as it landed in the bottom as there was apparently an enchantment in place to prevent the water from staying."

"That's sounds like Tom," Dumbledore said.

"Still, I believe if we think about this there is a way around it," Hermione said. "I know that the basin the potion is in is protected by magic but Riddle disdained Muggle ways so thoroughly I doubt he thought of a way to prevent it being used. Most wizards would never consider using Muggle ways of prevention, which I think is one of Tom's weaknesses."

"What could Muggle means possibly due against magic?" Gideon just had to ask.

"Well for one thing Muggles bottle water in plastic bottles, among other things and I don't see why I can't buy a few bottles in the Muggle world and put them into my beaded bag in case of an emergency. That is at least one way we can prevent touching the lake in order to fill the cup used for the potion up which awakens the Inferi that are in the lake. Water bottling companies make millions and millions of pounds or Galleons if you prefer every year. It's quite the lucrative business."

"I never would've thought of that," Dumbledore admitted impressed. He never would've thought of a Muggle solution to a magical problem, which he knew was a fault of many of the Wizarding populace. He knew that Hermione was right when she had pointed out that a lot of wizards and witches tended to stick out in the nonmagical world, because they didn't know how to act or dress and it was going to become a major problem in a few years he knew.

"I might be able to think of something to get past that potion without someone having to drink it," Hermione said. "I know you can't take the locket without drinking the potion or at least that's what Harry said. We don't need to take too long though or Regulus will find out on accident that Voldemort made Horcruxes in order to prevent himself from dying. I believe that he was already having doubts, but you don't leave the Death Eaters and expect to live."

Hermione paused and look at the Prewett twins.

"What no comments about how an 18 year old boy deserves to die because he was a slimy Slytherin?"

"Why would you think that we would say something like that?" Fabian asked.

"Because your nephew would have in my time and I know that plenty of people shared his opinion of Slytherins in particular. Not even reminding him of the fact that Death Eaters do come from other houses where most didn't believe in joining the Death Eaters made him change it. Harry and I were a little bit more relaxed about it, although we did avoid Malfoy and his cronies. I got quite close to Daphne Greengrass and Tracy Davis in my time as we shared a couple of classes and we would study together in the library. I didn't dare mention them around Ron though, as he would've ranted for the next half an hour about how all Slytherins are evil and that they'd drag me into the Dark Arts. He could be very offensive when his temper got away from him and I just tried my best to keep the peace. I'm afraid that your nephew is one that loses his temper easily and takes offense at a lot of things. He's lazy, uncooperative, unmotivated and expects everybody to do his schoolwork for him. His grades were abysmal, because he refused to study and the only thing he was really good at was chess and Quidditch, both of which came naturally to him. He won't have me to help him this time around, so you or Molly need to find a way to motivate him."

"I don't think either Arthur or Molly would teach him to hate someone just because they were Slytherins," Gideon said.

"I don't think his prejudice came from his parents as I knew them quite well and they were two of the most accepting people I've ever known. I'm not sure where he got his opinions from, maybe just overheard conversations when he was young. The young are very impressionable. Draco Malfoy and his gang of thugs didn't help because they liked to harass Harry and me in particular, though Malfoy never passed up an opportunity to tease Ron about the lack of his family's money, for wearing secondhand robes or because of the fact that he was poor at magic and usually lost his temper when I tried to help him. Of course, the fact he was using a second hand wand didn't help. Ron always reacted to the Slytherins taunting and lost his temper every time as he never could control himself when it came to his pride. Because of Ron's temper he got me and Harry into a lot of trouble.

"That's another thing headmaster you need to crack down harshly on, bullying. Malfoy among others felt they could get away with anything and all because their families had money. Malfoy used his father's name as if it would get him out of trouble every time and the sad thing is that it worked most of the time. You need to suspend or expel people when they go to far something the older you never did no matter how severe that bullying was. Detention isn't going to change these peoples mind as they look upon it as a badge of honor. A lot of these people are not going to change their opinions, opinions that have been drilled to them since they were small children. It got so bad at one point that Draco and his cohorts could probably have gotten away with murder and you always said that you couldn't prove they were at fault so nothing ever happened beyond a few detentions."

Dumbledore looked rather upset at what he was hearing, but from what he had seen from Hermione's own memories he could understand where she was coming from.

"I'll get the teachers to stamp down on bullying," Dumbledore said.

"That's a start," Hermione agreed. "However you need to do more. Those in the same house tend to take up for each other and so Slytherins in particular always come off the worst, even when it's a Gryffindor that did the attacking first. This happened a lot in Harry's father's time and you never did any real investigating at least from what I understand from an older Sirius and Remus. In fact, they painted a rather grim picture of certain students allowed to get away with atrocities that don't bare mentioning, simply because they came from a certain house. Because of your laxness James Potter and Sirius Black got away with hexing Severus Snape in particular on a daily basis and sometimes several times on the same day. Nothing was ever done to truly punish James or Sirius for being bullies. Because of their actions Severus Snape hated Harry when he came to school with a passion just because he was a Potter and because he looked like his father. He made my friend's life absolute hell every time he entered the Potions Classroom and sometimes even outside it. He took great pleasure in torturing the son of a man who been dead for over a decade and you never once reeled him in and told him to be professional. He took his hatred against a man that had passed on, out on a child to levels of hatred that never should have been permitted in a professor. He certainly didn't treat the others Gryffindors any better, even if he didn't have any personal hatred towards them. I mean he took points for stupid things like blinking too loudly. Let me tell you headmaster if something like that happened in the Muggle world that teacher would be given just three warnings before they would be dismissed and yet you did nothing making Snape believe that he could do what he wanted. Teachers are highly vetted in the Muggle world to make sure they are suitable to teach children, but that doesn't seem to be true here in the magical one.

"I don't particularly care if he's the only Potions Master in the British Isles. He needs to act professionally or he needs to be tossed out on his ear. Just because he's good at potions doesn't mean that he's able to transfer those skills to students."

"So I hire Snape then or at least I do sometime in your timeline," Dumbledore said if only to end the rather awkward silence and how my need not.

"I think it happened sometime after the prophecy is spoken," Hermione said thoughtfully. "The prophecy is spoken sometime in 1980, just a few short months before July 31st, which is when my friend is born."

"So he's born in 1980 then," Dumbledore said.

"Yes, and Lily will get pregnant sometime in November this year if my calculations are correct, probably towards the end of the month, since Harry's birthday isn't until the 31st. Alice gets pregnant around the same time and her son's birthday will be only a day before Harry's. I won't allow Alice and Frank to end up in St. Mungo's this time, just like I won't allow Harry to grow up without his parents. Before you ask, Alice and Frank Longbottom were driven insane by overuse of the Cruciatus Curse by some of the most fanatic Death Eaters there were in my time. They kept asking questions about Voldemort's whereabouts, unable to believe that their master was dead. This happened after the death of the Potters and Voldemort's disappearance. They had been told it was safe to come out from under the Fidelius Charm the Secret-Keeper being Frank's mother Augusta Longbottom. Their son was raised by his grandmother."

"That's something else we need to prevent," Fabian said firmly and everybody nodded in agreement.

"We will," Hermione swore.

The discussion continued for sometime before the twins and Hermione finally took their leave. Things were happening very rapidly, but that's the way Hermione preferred it as she knew that the prophecy was due to be uttered sometime before Harry was born in 1980, so she wanted to do as much as possible to prevent that from happening. She didn't want her friend to face what they had in her original timeline or anybody else for that matter and she was determined to prevent it.

~~~Gideon, Hermione, Fabian~~~


	3. Chapter 3

Part 3

So is there something you're not telling us?" Fabian asked having learned to read Hermione pretty well by now, as she had been staying in their guestroom for several weeks. Hermione had acclimatized to this time much faster then either Gideon or Fabian had believed was possible, but they supposed that she really hadn't been thrown that far back into the past just 20 years or so, so things wouldn't be too different from her own time and she had also grown up the first time during the 80s and 90s, so they supposed it was no wonder that she had acclimatized so fast.

"Not here," Hermione said quietly. "Wait until we get back to your apartment."

Both twins looked at each other, but said nothing else because they knew that if Hermione didn't want to be overheard then there was a good reason for it.

All three of them Apparated away and landed only seconds later in their own living room.

"Alright, so what did you leave out when we were talking to the headmaster?" Gideon asked curiously.

"Just a second," Hermione said quietly taking out her wand and mumbling under her breath for several minutes.

After a few seconds both twins recognized what she was doing and wondered why she thought it was necessary to raise such complicated wards for a simple conversation. All they could figure was it was very important and she definitely didn't want to be overheard.

"Alright, I'll tell you what I kept from Dumbledore," Hermione said finally.

Hermione went onto explain all about the fifth Horcrux she hadn't wanted to mention in Dumbledore's presence because it had been the one that had eventually killed him.

"Now we understand why you didn't mention the fifth Horcrux in front of the headmaster," said Fabian after he had absorbed the information.

"Yes, we do," Gideon confirmed. "You might not like Dumbledore very much due to your previous experiences, but that doesn't mean you necessarily want him dead."

"I have to admit he's much different in this time, which leads me to believe that he had gone senile in my own," Hermione admitted. "I could actually learn to respect this Dumbledore unlike the other one in the time I come from. Oh, I respected him at first, just like everyone does, but he lost every ounce of respect I had for him after I found out what happened to Harry, though that wasn't the only reason I disliked the old coot so much. Still, the Resurrection Stone that is part of the Horcrux we are going after would be too much temptation for him. He would want to talk to his sister and his parents especially Ariana. Now normally, using the stone wouldn't be a problem, but then the spells embedded into the ring take effect the minute he puts it on. A kind of withering curse takes effect and spreads, and eventually kills him. The Snape of my time managed to slow down the curse, so it didn't kill him for about a year, but he couldn't stop it. No finding the Resurrection Stone would be too much temptation for him, so it's better that we destroy the piece of Voldemort's soul before we allow him to find out about it."

"You know where it's located?"

"Somewhere in Little Hangleton as that was where the Riddle family was from and also where my friend Harry was transported to at the end of the Triwizard Tournament. I suspect that the location of the ring isn't too far away and we need to destroy as soon as possible."

"None of us are any good at controlling Fiendfyre though," Gideon said quietly.

"It's why we need to destroy that basilisk as soon as possible and I think I figured out a way to get past the Parseltongue enchantment."

"How?" both twins asked at the same time intrigued that Hermione had figured out a way so quickly how to get into the Chamber of Secrets.

"It's fairly simple, so simple in fact, that I'm surprised that Dumbledore hasn't thought of it. I wasn't really involved when Harry went after the basilisk originally because I'd been petrified. I had figured out what it was, but I never had a chance to tell anyone. As to how to get into the chamber without having to get past the enchantment that Salazar Slytherin placed on the entrance it's as simple as lifting up one of the stones that make up the floor or at least destroy it enough to create a space for a human to get through. Once we are done destroying the basilisk and harvesting it we can always repair the stone so it looks like that it had never been disturbed. We'll need some kind of steps to get down or possibly brooms, but it is certainly doable."

"You are absolutely brilliant," Fabian said in an awed tone.

"Thank you," Hermione said blushing at the compliment.

Fabian knew that he was also developing feelings for this brilliant, sweet, kind woman, someone he could actually see himself settling down with and having children. He knew that his brother also was developing feelings for this gorgeous enchantress that had almost literally dropped into their laps. He wondered if his brother would object to a triad. Of course, Hermione would have to agree to it, but it was certainly a possibility. He would talk to Gideon as soon as possible he decided, as soon as they were sure they were alone and he would see what his brother thought about his ideas then.

"We'll give it a few days before we tell Dumbledore my idea," Hermione said. "Let him believe that it took me awhile to come up with this idea. I'll make sure I filch some of the venom for our use hopefully, without anyone noticing. Just a vial of it will do, as just one drop will probably be enough to destroy a Horcrux.

"It's hard to believe that the Deathly Hallows are real as I always felt they were just a legend," Gideon said.

"So did I at first. Harry's family has had one of them for centuries now, even if no one knows it, not even the owners as far as I know."

"James's old invisibility cloak," Fabian said, instantly remembering how many times the Marauders had escaped him since he had been prefect and then Head Boy. He and his brother had been several years older then the Marauders, so had only attended school with them for three years.

"Very well thought out, Fabian," Hermione congratulated Fabian. "I didn't think anybody knew about the cloak, except the other Marauders."

"I was prefect, then Head Boy. Gideon and I were a few years older than James Potter and his friends. If you knew how many times they literally disappeared when we almost caught them out after curfew..."

"I understand," Hermione said. "I already knew that James and Sirius were quite the troublemakers when they went to Hogwarts, though not Remus so much. From what I understand he usually just followed along, because he was afraid of losing his friends if he didn't."

"A valid fear, considering what we now know," Gideon said. "Neither Fabian or I think any less of him because he's a werewolf, but many would."

"Believe me, I know," Hermione agreed her expression sour. "That kind of bigotry just makes me want to hex someone, so I can understand Remus's fear of not being accepted especially as a kid. In a way, I faced the same problem and not because I'm a werewolf, but because I'm so intelligent and I was a know-it-all when I was younger. I not only had a thirst for knowledge, but a thirst to prove myself, prove that I was just as good as anybody else in my strange new environment. I had been bullied at my last school, just because I tried to answer every question and showed how smart I was. I had absolutely no friends at all. I thought going to Hogwarts would be different, but it turned out that people were just the same anywhere. I was even thinking about going home, but then I was attacked by that troll as you saw in the Pensieve. I became friends with Harry after that and although Ron was kind of my friend he often insulted me, mostly without meaning to. He was absolutely clueless about how much he hurt my feelings on a regular basis. He never did grow out of that habit before he was killed, although he did get better. He might have eventually outgrown that habit, but then again maybe not."

"So why did you make friends with Ron in the first place, if he insulted you so much," Fabian asked.

"Because he was friends with Harry and the only way to also be friends with him was to be friends with Ron. Ron was the first friend that Harry had ever had, because as you already know he had a terrible childhood. I believe that if Harry had been raised in a better environment he never would've made friends with Ron Weasley or at least they wouldn't have been as close as they were in my timeline. We did eventually get close, but I never felt the same about Ron as I did about Harry. We were friends and everything, but we weren't as close as Harry and I were.

"Once Ron is born in this timeline I'll treat him like a nephew once I meet the Weasleys officially. Perhaps, I'll be able to make sure he grows up to be not as bigoted as he was in my timeline. I suspect that he'll always be short tempered but he can learn to control that if he really tries. I'm hoping I can be a positive influence. It's not that Molly doesn't try everything she can to motivate him, but she has so many children to look after, that she can't really give Ron the individualized attention that some children need. In many families younger children tend to be ignored in favor of the older ones and other times it's the reverse where the younger ones get all the attention and the older ones start to resent their siblings because if it. Ron's always had a giant chip on his shoulder when it comes to being poor and he never really got over that, I'm afraid. I know Arthur does the best he can, but my Ron didn't appreciate what he had, which was a family that loved him. He always had food in his belly and clothes on his back, even if those clothes were secondhand. A lot of children have far less then Ron does including the Harry of my timeline. He might've eventually grown out of it as he was only 20 when he was killed and that's still quite young really."

"He sounds very immature," Gideon commented looking thoughtful.

"He was in a lot of ways," Hermione agreed. "Ron was one of those people that wanted time to stop so he didn't have to grow up. I hate to say such negative things about your own nephew, but you did ask. In a way Ron suffered from being the sixth son of 6 sons. He was young and felt that he had a lot to live up to, because his two oldest brothers were doing quite well in their careers before the war really kicked off and Percy was doing quite well at the ministry once they graduated, which only made that resentment worse. Fred and George also started a joke shop as I showed you as soon as they left Hogwarts and it was doing quite well the last I heard."

"Which only made Ron feel even more inadequate, feeling he'd never live up to his older brothers example," Fabian realized.

"He was quite talented at chess as I told you. He was a prodigy and also one in Quidditch, but in his studies..." Hermione said nothing more but shook her head.

"He didn't do well at them, I remembered you saying," Gideon said and Hermione shook her head negatively.

"No, he didn't, but only because he was lazy and refused to do more then what was absolutely necessary. I'm afraid I coddled him like a whiny brat, something I shouldn't have done, because it meant that I always did his homework instead of making him do it himself. I did it mostly to shut him up as he would whine and whine until I gave in. I'm ashamed of that now and I promise you I'll teach him good study habits when he's young enough to learn. Hopefully, this version of Ron will be much improved by the time he's 11 and going to Hogwarts."

"I understand why you did it or at least I think I do anyway," Gideon said. "You wanted him as a friend, so you felt that Ron wouldn't be one if you didn't do his homework for him since he refused to do it himself."

"Something like that," Hermione admitted. "It's really because I wanted Harry's friendship though and I was afraid that he would abandon me if I didn't get along with Ron."

"So why don't we do something fun for a few hours as I think we deserve a break," Fabian suggested. "I know that hunting down all those Horcruxes is important, but you still need a chance to rest and relax."

"I have to agree with my brother that you've been on edge for years really, as you didn't dare relax in case somebody sneaked up on you, so you were on guard all the time," Gideon said.

"What do you suggest?" Hermione asked curiously.

They told her and she nodded. "Alright, taking a few hours off will be good, as I haven't really relaxed in far too long," Hermione agreed.

"Good!" both twins grinned at her with identical expressions reminding Hermione so much of an older Fred and George that it was painful. Finally though, she gathered herself together and told the twins that she was going to go change and that she would be ready in a few minutes before disappearing into the guestroom.

~~~Gideon, Hermione, Fabian~~~

The next few months moved at fast pace until it was finally time for the birth of her younger self. Hermione had wondered over the last several months whether she would know the exact minute that she was born. If she would feel the exact second she emerged from her mother's birth canal all covered in fluid and took her first breath. She thought she would but she wasn't sure, so she waited. She knew she had been born after midnight on September 18th. Finally, she felt something and she knew instantly that she had indeed been born. There were now officially two Hermione Grangers in the same time period, even if officially she was now Mia Granger the connection remained. Dumbledore had come though on her identity and she was now Mia Jean Granger, born September 19, 1956 instead of September 1979. She was officially 23 years old which happened to be her real age anyway. She quietly celebrated her own birth and then drifted off to sleep contentedly. Dumbledore had even taken care of her N.E.W.T. scores, all Outstandings in the nine subjects that she had mentioned previously. Hermione was grateful that she didn't have to take her N.E.W.T.s at the Ministry, but she felt a little guilty about that as it felt like cheating. She also knew she couldn't afford to call attention to herself, so she accepted it.

She was also now officially a member of the Order and she had finally revealed herself to those she trusted not including Peter Pettigrew or Mundungus Fletcher. Really, only about 20 people were aware of her identity including James and Lily Potter, Remus Lupin, Sirius Black, Kingsley Shacklebolt, the Senior Weasleys and Frank and Alice Longbottom. She had then informed the group about everything she had already revealed Dumbledore so plans had been made. Once she had shown all her memories the Longbottoms and the Potters in particular were grateful that she had saved them from a terrible fate and so were Sirius and Remus. Sirius had started to flirt with her, but the Prewett twins had put a stop to it immediately and made it clear that she was off limits and she was grateful, as she didn't need that kind of thing right now, as there was too much to do in a short time.

She had also gotten close to the Weasleys just as she had been in the previous timeline and Fabian and Gideon seemed to be pleased about this, more pleased then she thought they should be. She had gotten to know Bill and Charlie much better and she made sure that Percy relaxed at least a little so maybe he wouldn't grow up so stiff and proper.

"So Mia can you tell me if this baby I am carrying is going to be the girl that both Arthur and I want?" Molly asked Hermione suddenly.

Hermione looked up from where she was looking through one of the Weasley books sitting at the Burrow kitchen table, just like she had done many times before in her original timeline. She was reading up on households spells to remind herself how to do them as it had been a long time since she had to used such magic. Besides, it gave her something to do other than staying in the twins apartment all alone. At least here she was around people.

"I'm afraid not," Hermione said absently. "It'll be a boy, but I won't tell you what you name him. He was a friend to me in my own time and it devastated me and Harry when he was murdered."

"That won't happen this time though," Molly said looking fiercely protective. "My brothers say that you've changed things massively from what they were like in your previous timeline so it's unlikely that they'll be a full blown war."

"That's true," Hermione agreed. "However, Voldemort is still out there, even though we've taken care of all his Horcruxes. The next time somebody gets in a lucky shot he'll be gone for good. It might be me that takes him out as my reflexes are still razor sharp because of all my time on the run, but personally, I hope someone just poisons him, so I won't have to get involved. I'd rather remain anonymous, you know? I might be officially registered in this time thanks to Dumbledore, but I'd still rather keep a low-profile. The less attention I draw to myself the better."

"I can understand that," Molly said, even as she fixed lunch for her large family. "So will Arthur and I ever get the girl we want or should we stop after this one?"

"No you shouldn't stop as you have one more after this," Hermione answered now turning her full attention to the conversation.

Molly turned in her direction and studied her guest's expression and immediately felt hope blossom within her. She just knew that the one after this would be the girl that both her and Arthur desired. She knew however, that her guest would not reveal any details if asked, but she was content to know though that she would soon have a little girl to love, so she went back to preparing lunch with a smile on her face.

"I can't wait for this one to get here, as he's really kicking me in the bladder," Molly said suddenly.

"I don't blame you," Hermione said her tone wishful.

"You want some children of your own," Molly suggested and Hermione didn't bother to deny it.

"I do someday, but right now, is not a good time to have them due to the threat of Voldemort and his followers. Once he's gone and at least most of his followers are taken care of then yes, I'd love to get married and have a few children. I've seen so much death in my own timeline that I never even imagined bringing a child into such an environment. I was always on the run with my two friends after we had all turned seventeen, so while I did think about having children someday occasionally, always late at night, I knew that I might never have any due to circumstances. I never expected to be thrown back in time or to have a second chance to have those children I wish for."

"So any prospects when it comes to marriage?" Molly asked trying to keep it as an innocent question. At least Hermione didn't seem suspicious.

"Not really," Hermione sighed. "Very few people know that I'm not from this time and it should stay that way for their own safety as well as my own. I know very well what the ministry does about time travelers, even though it's not like I performed some kind of ritual to arrive here. They likely wouldn't care about my innocence in the matter they would just throw me in prison and I'd be lucky if I didn't get the Dementors kiss. I have absolutely no faith in the ministry doing the right thing, especially since I'm not a pureblood and they're very proactive where purebloods are concerned. Since I'm a Muggle-born I would likely get short shift. I have no doubt that they wouldn't even bother with a trial if they felt they could get away with it. They might not be as bad in this time as they are in my own, but still..."

"I understand," Molly said nodding. She really did, as she knew that the ministry was extremely corrupt and they didn't necessarily care about justice, especially for someone who had absolutely no influence or money in order to bribe them, so she could definitely understand Mia's need to remain unknown to them.

Hermione was hoping that that would be the end of the conversation, but she should have known it wouldn't be, because she knew that Molly could be very determined

"So out of the ones who know about your unintentional time travel who is available?" Molly asked.

"Not very many people actually, nor am I interested in most of them. Really, out of the male Order members that are around my age or a few years older there are only Remus and Sirius, your brothers, Kingsley Shacklebolt who's nice enough and Sirius's brother Regulus.

Regulus had joined the Order in secret after his life had been saved by Hermione's knowing of certain events and was now a spy within the Death Eaters.

"See there's not many choices available and while I like Kingsley a lot I don't think I could ever fall in love with him. The same goes for Regulus or Sirius. As for Remus he'll meet his mate in the future and I could never take that away from him. I could easily fall for Remus actually, if I let myself, as he's similar in many ways to me. I knew him in the future you see and I think that we would fit very well together, but due to him meeting his mate in the future, I'm making sure to keep our relationship at friendship level. He might fall in love with me, but he will love his mate much more and I could never take her place."

I suppose," Molly conceded. "So what about Fabian or Gideon or both as triads are not at all unusual in the magical world."

Hermione tried not to blush as those were two men that she could easily fall for. She didn't succeed though and unfortunately Molly noticed. Hermione sighed internally at the sharp look the matron of the Weasley family shot her.

"You like them," Molly accused her.

"So what if I do?" Hermione countered. "They aren't interested in me in that way."

"Mia you just aren't seeing it," Molly scolded seriously. "I know my brothers and both of them are very interested in you and are likely just waiting to ask you out until they believe that you have settled into this time. I've never seen Fabian in particular, wait so long to ask a girl out, while Gideon tends to be a bit shyer."

"I believe you're mistaken, Molly," Hermione said firmly. "I suspect I'll never truly settle down and while I could have children out of wedlock I know what a great sin that is in this time, particularly in the magical community. I don't dare tell anybody else about where I originally came from and though I was interested in someone in my time right now they're only a baby."

Molly simply shook her head in disappointment and Hermione turned determinedly back to the book she was flipping through.

"I know I'm right and I won't be surprised if one or both of them do actually ask you on a date sometime in the next week or two. I'm warning you now, so you won't be surprised when it happens and I'll be here to gloat when it does."

Hermione blocked out the sounds of Molly's voice, something that she did automatically when she was deep into research, but she couldn't help, but think about Molly's words, even as she concentrated on the book.

Molly's little speech would soon prove nearly prophetic, and something that Hermione would remember when the time came.

~~~Gideon, Hermione, Fabian~~~


	4. Chapter 4

Part 4

Hermione couldn't get Molly's words out of her head and she cursed silently. Damn that woman for putting such an idea in her head. She knew that Molly had her best interest at heart, but that didn't mean it wasn't annoying. It had been so long since she had been attracted to a male around her own age, or any male for that matter. She'd always been attracted to redheads which was why she'd had that crush on George. Unfortunately, for her George was still a small child at this point and she was nearly 20 years older than him. She knew that she wasn't that attractive no matter what Molly had implied and she was cursing the fact that the older woman had put such an idea into her skull in the first place. The Prewett twins had plenty of females to date or do whatever they wanted with, so why would they give her a second look. She was sure that too them she was nothing more than a friend who had prevented their deaths at the hands of half a dozen Death Eaters which had happened just a few short weeks ago.

Thanks to Hermione they had managed to survive with only mild injuries and take all but one of the Death Eaters into custody. Molly was very grateful to her for saving her brothers and so she was welcome anytime at the Burrow and was considered a part of the family.

Voldemort would retaliate at some point they all knew, so they were all tense and on their guard. Also thanks to her all the Horcruxes had been disposed of, including the ring that she and the twins had dealt with without Dumbledore's knowledge, and she wouldn't allow Voldemort to make a new one if she had her way. The Dark Lord was now mortal and would soon be permanently dead if they were very lucky.

Still, life went on and Hermione tried her best not to think about Molly words, but it was extremely difficult. They had somehow gotten stuck in brain and refused to leave no matter what she did.

Unfortunately, she had been unable to conceal her reaction from Fabian and Gideon sister when she had asked if she was attracted to them, so now unfortunately, Molly knew that she was indeed attracted to her brothers, not that she believed anything would ever come of it. Molly had mentioned a triad and Hermione knew about such things, but didn't see herself involved in one. For one thing she wasn't a classic beauty and she figured she'd be lucky if she found a teacher to fall in love with at some point, someone that was considerably older than her. Most of the boys around her own age bored her to tears with the Prewett twins and Remus being the exceptions. Remus was off limits because of what she knew of his future unfortunately, because otherwise she would've had no qualms about getting close to him romantically.

Sirius and Kingsley had flirted a little with her, but it was just casual and she knew this, but still, she had to admit she enjoyed the attention. While she liked both those wizards she didn't like them romantically.

Hermione didn't realize that she had an inner beauty and sense of peace that made her outer self glow so it made her even more beautiful than she always had been despite some peoples opinions in her own time. She had been teased so often about her bushy hair and her buck teeth, that she truly believed that she wasn't beautiful at all, just merely pretty at best. Hermione had yet to realize that those taunts that had been made by others were false and the others had just been jealous of her beauty and her inner goodness. She was gorgeous, even more so since she had tamed her hair with a charm she had invented for the purpose and had her teeth magically fixed. She also had a strong inner core of goodness that just added to her already strong appeal. If you knew what to look for you would realize that this was somebody that would never turn her back on her principles no matter the provocation, but would also do things to protect those she cared for. Things that others would look down on her for.

It was now nearing the time of Harry's birth, as it was only a few months to go and Hermione was looking forward to it with quiet anticipation. She knew that she would be no more than an aunt to Harry in this time instead of his best friend, but at least he would have a happy childhood, hopefully, with the brothers and sisters in a few years.

Just like the Weasleys the Potters had sort of adopted her for she had saved their lives after all, as she was the one that had warned them about Peter's true allegiance, an allegiance that would have led to their deaths leaving their son an orphan, even if the son hadn't bee born yet. There was no way that they would allow themselves to be set up at Godric's Hollow like had happened in the original timestream. After they had discovered one of their supposed best friends intent to betray them if he could, they decided that they'd rather be free and take their chances, Still, the Order was considering some kind of trap so that hopefully Voldemort could be taken out permanently. Once he was killed this time there would be no coming back because all five Horcruxes were gone, though they didn't want Voldemort to learn of this, as he would just create another if he knew. Hermione was pretty sure that no more than six could be created at all, with the last portion remaining in the body and since Dumbledore agreed with her the Order knew that the Dark Lord couldn't create more than one other.

"Mia? Are you busy?" Came the voice of one of the twins pulling Hermione from her thoughts.

"Yes, Gideon? What can I do for you?" Hermione asked immediately once the twin's heads popped through the doorway. Like Fred and George she could tell Gideon and Fabian apart even though they were supposedly identical and while several people had asked her how she did it she couldn't really give them a reply because she wasn't entirely sure how she could tell them apart, just that she could.

Gideon shook his head still stunned that this woman from the future could tell him and his brother apart, but then she apparently could tell Fred and George apart, his sisters identical twin sons as well.

"Fabian and I want to see you out in the living area," Gideon reported.

Hermione and immediately headed for the bedroom door, trying not to worry about what the twins wanted. Finally she entered the living area after walking down the short hallway and presented herself to the twins who were waiting trying to look confidence.

"Why don't you sit down," Fabian suggested.

"What's this about?" Hermione asked. "If you want me to move out all you have to do is say so."

Both twins looked stunned and Hermione immediately felt a little guilty for assuming that's what this was about. She had figured that Fabian and Gideon had just gotten tired of hosting the strange girl from the future and she wasn't exactly sure why that idea had popped into her head as the twins had done nothing to make her think that they wanted her to leave. She supposed it had a lot to do with the war that had been raging in her own time. She, Harry and Ron had camped out a lot, so that they wouldn't place anybody in to much danger and also because it was hard to trust that they wouldn't be betrayed. This was a totally different situation, but Hermione was still operating on the instincts that had been honed over the years until she expected to be asked to leave wherever she was because she put peoples lives in danger by her very presence. She suspected she'd be operating on those learned instincts until after Voldemort was defeated, because they had saved her life and warned her of danger more than once.

"What made you think that was what we wanted?" Fabian almost yelled, but controlled himself at the last possible second.

Hermione shrugged trying not to look embarrassed that she had blurted out the first thing that came to mind as she had been walking down the short hallway that lead to the living area.

"I'm truly sorry that I said that," Hermione said. "I'm still operating on instincts that were honed during the war in my time and I thought that was what you were going to tell me. That was the only reason I could think of actually as to the reason you both requested to see me."

Fabian's temper deflated at that explanation. "I guess you never really had a chance to be just a child, did you."

"I was never really a child even before I turned 11," Hermione shrugged. "I was always extremely intelligent, so intelligent, that the other kids around my age games bored me and even if I had wanted to join them they often ignored me, that or teased me until I decided that it just wasn't worth it. Even after I entered Hogwarts, as you know I thought about asking to leave before Halloween, because it wasn't any better than my normal school. I was teased and bullied just as much, the only difference really is the kids had magic and could hex me instead of just verbally insulting me or using their fists to let me know I wasn't wanted. I found that children were the same anywhere and although the kids at Hogwarts reasons for bullying me were different from my former classmates I found out that bigotry was the same in the magical world. At least the mundane world was familiar, since I had grown up there and I mostly knew what was coming and how people would act, while the magical one was weird and strange and totally different from my own."

Gideon and Fabian looked at each and a silent message seemed to pass between them. Finally Gideon who seemed to be the current spokesman for them both.

"We never thought how hard it was for Muggle-borns to fit into our society, how they had to leave their families, their friends just to be part of our world."

"No, it's not exactly encouraged for a Muggle-born to keep in contact with their families and least in my time. It seems to me that the parents of a Muggle-born are expected to put their children on the train and basically forget about them after that, which is really unfair, not that those in charge care about that. While some magicals from mundane families manage to remain in contact with the Muggle world and their family, a lot do not, as they just get sucked into a world that operates totally different from their own. My parents and I were always really close and there is no way I could have ever broken off contact with them like seems to be expected. Unfortunately, so many Muggle-born lose their ability to think for themselves and instead just follow along with the crowd. Independent thought isn't exactly encouraged in the magical world as the magical's in my time are basically sheep."

"Sheep?" Fabian asked.

"They follow along with the strongest leader and are basically told what to do without thinking about whether what they're doing is legal or not and it doesn't matter whether that leader is Dumbledore the minister or Voldemort. I haven't been in this time long enough to see if things are different, but I doubt it, because Hogwarts School doesn't have any classes that encourage the students to think for themselves. Do you know that a lot of schools in my time have mundane courses so that students can get their A-levels as well as their O.W.L.s and N.E.W.T.s? A-levels are the equivalent of the N.E.W.T.s. Taking your A-levels allows you to go to college to get a further education for whatever career you choose. It seems that people like me are just expected to abandon their heritage at least here in England. The British Ministry of Magic does absolutely nothing to integrate the Muggle-born into their society and its either sing or swim."

"We never thought about it like that," Fabian admitted.

"Most magicals don't, because they know absolutely nothing about the way that the mundane world operates. Things need to change gentlemen, though whether that will happen in my lifetime I have no idea. Even if I pointed out the problem to those in power like the Minister of Magic I know very well I wouldn't be listened to not only because I'm not a pureblood, but because I don't have the money or the prestige to be heard and believed."

The twins had to admit that Hermione had a point.

"As interesting as this is we're kind of getting off track. Yes, we definitely agree with what you're saying, even if we never really thought about how unfair our society is for those who are not at least half bloods," Gideon agreed.

"Really, even half bloods aren't treated very well unless you are a half blood with considerable wealth in the bank and come from an influential family," Hermione said shaking her head. "Do you know the Muggle world has laws against discrimination, whether you're British, American, Japanese or any other nationality, everybody has equal opportunities to succeed. In most businesses, jobs just aren't handed to you because you're a certain color or a certain nationality. People have to work for it, though I won't claim that nepotism doesn't happen sometimes it's just not as widespread as it seems to be here in the English magical world."

"Mia, we've known each other for months now," Fabian said began while he could get a word in edgewise before Hermione could get started again. He had a feeling that she was feeding them all this information in order to distract them from what they had called her in here for, but on the other hand, she was really passionate about equality. Neither twin could blame her for that, because as she had just pointed out the magical world wasn't really fair to those who weren't pureblooded. The bigotry might not be his blatant in this time, but it was still present particularly at the ministry.

"And we wanted to ask if you would be willing to date both of us, with the goal of seeing if we are as compatible as Fabian and I believe we are," Gideon continued.

"If we are as compatible as both Gideon and I believe, then our final goal would be to get married and make a triad."

"Did your sister put you up to this?" Hermione asked her tone scolding. "I will not be played with and then thrown aside."

"Why do you think that Molly put us up to this?" Fabian asked confused.

"And why do you think we would throw you aside or play with your feelings for that matter?" asked Gideon just as confused.

Hermione blushed realizing she had made a wrong assumption, but the conversation with Molly was still playing on mind.

"Because we had a conversation about dating awhile back," Hermione explained. "She happened to bring up the idea of marriage and asked me if I was interested in anyone in this time. Your names happened to be mentioned along with a few others that aren't much older or younger than I am. I just assumed she put you up to it."

"Why would you assume something like that?" Fabian asked.

"Because your sister like to meddle as I know very well and because nobody ever wants me for myself. They want me to help them with their homework, sometimes trying to force me to do it for them, because they're are too lazy to do it themselves, as if I didn't have my own to do. It's not that I have any problem helping someone find what they're looking for in the library or answering a question if they're confused, but I expect them to do their own work. I was teased so often about my looks in both the Muggle and wizarding world that I'm not used to being paid attention to for my looks."

"Well, whoever teased you are idiots," Gideon said passionately. "That you haven't let people's cruelty turn you into someone you're not says a lot about your strength of will."

"Both Gideon and I think you're very beautiful, though I at least can see you don't think that way about yourself."

"You have an inner the goodness that just shines from inside you," Fabian added. "We know that you'll never turn into someone that would be deliberately cruel to someone who is different. In fact, you would help rescue someone like that from bullies."

"Also the fact, that you survived a war without letting it turn you bitter or hateful says a lot about how strong you are mentally and emotionally anyway," Gideon added

"You really don't realize how special you are Mia, mostly I suspect because you think so little of yourself, because of people's cruel words and action," Fabian added.

"I suspect those people were just jealous as they likely saw just how beautiful you would become when you grew up and so they teased you just to make themselves feel better," Gideon said.

Hermione stared at them in astonishment for a few seconds then relaxed, seeing they were sincere. "Nobody has ever said anything like that before to me."

"That's probably because you scared them senseless with your intelligence and your drive, so they likely never got up the courage to ask you out," Fabian said firmly.

"And no insult intended, but you can also be rather intense sometimes. Not everybody has your thirst for knowledge, so I have no doubt that you intimidated a lot of potential boyfriends. A lot of boys don't like to be shown up by a girl and I'm sure this is true even in your time as males have their pride."

"Well, you already know I did used to be something of a know-it-all and was always raising my hand in class instead of allowing other students to possibly answer," Hermione said her lips twitching. "I was so determined to prove that I was just as good as the others who had grown up in magical families that I suppose I came off as intimidating. I guess I didn't really know how to interact with other children my age back then."

"That's true of a lot of kids you know," Gideon pointed out. "Not every kid is outgoing and popular or has good social skills."

"I suppose," Hermione agreed. "I know that my bushy hair and teeth didn't help. I had my buck teeth fixed doing my third year and finally found a way to tame my hair. I suppose I had too many strikes against me to be popular. I was an insufferable know-it-all and I wasn't a pureblood, and I did my best in all my classes unlike a lot of kids. I suppose I came off as unapproachable to a lot of people. I didn't have very good people skills back then, though I should have considering that my normal companions were adults."

"But adults are different from kids who are just learning about the world around them," Fabian pointed out. "I bet you knew how to act with adult just not with someone your own age."

"That's true enough," Hermione decided.

"So about that date," Fabian asked.

"I don't know," Hermione said. "I'm not sure I should get too involved in this time. They're are technically two Hermione Granger's now. It might be better if I keep mostly to myself."

"Mia, you shouldn't be alone for the rest of your life, as it will only make you lonely and bitter," Gideon said.

"Especially not out of a misplaced sense that you shouldn't get too involved in this time just because you come from the future," Fabian added. "I mean you're stuck in this time now with no way back and it wouldn't be healthy for you to remain alone for the rest of your life."

"I mean seriously do you know how long that magicals can live? We can live for several centuries depending on the size of our magical cores and general health of course. Do you want to be alone for the next three or four hundred years? I would think that would be the route to insanity."

"But I do have friends," Hermione pointed out already wavering.

"While that's true and having friends is good, it's totally different than having somebody to come home to. You're not stupid Mia, so I know you know this. I doubt that whatever sent you back in time wanted you to be alone for the rest of your life out of a misplaced sense of duty or because you believed that you should just fade into obscurity," Gideon said.

"I think that you're just afraid of taking a chance of actually falling in love and having it last for the rest of your life," Fabian added.

Wizarding marriages were such that there was no divorce if it was done magically. Witches and wizards that got married in a magical ceremony were bound magically and their magic combined, so they could never get married again unless one of them died although they could separate and have sex with other people with or without the consent of their spouse. Still, technically, that would be considered cheating because that witch or wizard would still be married. It did happen though.

"At least agree to date us for awhile and if you feel it won't work out then we'll accept that. However, it has to be how you really feel and not because you're afraid," Fabian suggested.

"If you're against triads tell us now and we'll let you decide which one of us you want to date or if you don't want to date either us," Gideon added.

"Don't lie to us either because we'll know," Fabian added seeing Hermione was about to say something. "You're a crappy liar and we can always tell, so don't try to tell us you're not interested unless it's the truth."

Hermione closed her mouth with a snap at that and blushed mostly because it was true she was a crappy liar. Gideon and Fabian didn't have to point it out though, Hermione added in her thoughts feeling just a little resentful. She had to be honest with herself though and had to admit that she never had been able to lie well. She just didn't like her faults pointed out to her and tended to resent anyone that did so. A weakness in her character she supposed.

"I suppose we can give it a try," Hermione said finally giving into her heart for a change instead of listening to her brain that was telling her this was a bad idea. The logical side of her was arguing with her heart, but Hermione wanted to give love a chance. Besides, she couldn't deny that she was very attracted to the Prewett twins and she would never be able to choose between them. Luckily, triads while not common were legal. They were even legal in her time not that she knew anybody involved in a triad. Still, it was an intriguing idea and one that gave her lots of naughty ideas that she was hoping she was keeping from her body language.

"Good! We'll go on our first date tomorrow before you have a chance to change your mind," Fabian said, but Gideon was nodding in agreement.

"I'm not going change my mind. I agreed to give it a try so I will," Hermione said. "It might not lead anywhere, but I'm tired of always telling myself I don't have time for love, that I have to much to do to even consider trying to find a boyfriend."

"You need time to relax or you'll do yourself harm," Gideon said and Hermione nodded in agreement.

Hermione's problem was she had trouble relaxing always feeling like she was goofing off and that she should be busy with her homework, studying, prefect duties or just reading to possibly learn something useful. She supposed that she had compensated in her childhood with hard work to make up for lack of friends to spend time with. It was going to be a hard habit to break she knew.

"My only request is that we keep it to ourselves for now no telling anyone including your sister, until we know if things are going to work out. Also we know that Voldemort is still out there and hates Muggle-borns with a passion. If he or one of his Death Eater happen to find out that two purebloods are dating a Muggle-born I don't like to think of the consequences. As it is you are already targets. You've already escaped from some of his best Death Eaters once and he won't like that. I won't be surprised if the two of you have become priority targets, so make sure you watch your backs."

"But nobody knows your Muggle-born in this time. In fact, Dumbledore listed you as a half-blood remember," Gideon reminded Hermione.

"I believe he thought it would make things easier for you if it wasn't known that you had parents without magic," Fabian added.

"I had forgotten that, but you're right nobody knows other then very few that I'm a Muggle-born. I'm just so well-known in my own time due to several factors that they'd be no point of hiding the fact that my parents don't have magic," Hermione admitted.

"People will assume that you're a pureblood unless told otherwise. According to your records you came from France and went to Beauxbatons Academy of Magic. So even if they look closely into your background they won't be able to find much," Gideon said.

"Except that I've only existed for a short amount of time," Hermione said.

"That's a point," Fabian admitted. "Still, you live pretty quietly, so that should give you a great deal of protection."

"Alright, fine, I'll try to quit worrying," Hermione said. "What I need to find me a job, but I think that can wait until after Voldemort is gone, but after that, I need something productive to do. I've got to figure out what I'm going to do with the rest of my life as I'm not going to be just a housewife thank you very much and if that's what you want then the deal is off."

"I admit in a lot of pureblood families the wife doesn't work so they can look after the kids," Fabian admitted.

"But we don't have any objections if you want to do something other than be a stay-at-home wife. I think Fabian and I know you well enough to know that you'd be driven insane in no time," Gideon said.

"Boy would I," Hermione said with genuine feeling. "I was raised in the modern world gentleman where a woman did not just stay at home and look after the kids unless that's what they wanted. Some women didn't mind being stay-at-home moms. They are called soccer moms in my time, because they get their kids to all their activities, as well as other kids that were friends with theirs. Muggle kids are much more active the the ones that are magical. They are often part of sports teams that are geared towards the younger people. We have a lot more sports then the magicals do. Soccer, baseball, basketball, football, are just some of the more popular. They're are also all kinds of clubs for kids, chess clubs, book clubs, music clubs and so forth."

"So the parents have to transport their kids to all their activities," Gideon said.

He understood the concept, but it was certainly an unusual one in the magical world.

"Not necessarily, that kids parents often carpool, which means they have several people's children all going to the same place. This means they share transportation if somebody else's kid is in the same club and they happen to be friends with another child doing the same activity. It saves on gas which is what makes a car run and that cuts down the cost. Gas is not cheap, though the cost does tend go up and down depending on availability."

"That's weird," Fabian admitted.

"To you I know it probably is," Hermione shrugged. "But Muggles don't have means of transportation that gets them from one place to another in a few seconds. It may take Muggles longer to get around, but they still get to where they're going. I need to go shopping. I don't have any suitable clothes for a date. I have mostly jeans and comfortable T-shirts and blouses as it wasn't like I was going to be attending any fancy functions while I was fighting for my life."

"I think we can agree to not to tell Molly until we see if it works out. Unfortunately, you're right, Molly is a busybody and would try to interfere with everybody's supposed best interest in mind," Gideon said.

"She also has a habit of planning somebody's wedding before they're even know if they're suitable to be married," Hermione said her lips twitching. "As much as I love your sister, I think it's better we keep our relationship from her for awhile at least. She was so sure in my time that I would end up marrying Ron and there was no way that was going to happen. I would've murdered Ron within a year or two at the very most, as his laziness and other faults would've driven me insane and there's no way I could have lived with him on a permanent basis. I don't think Molly wanted to see that we were just friends and that's all we would ever be. He was obsessed with Quidditch for one thing and while I like to watch it as much as the next person he would go on and on about it, as if it was the most important thing in the universe."

"There's nothing wrong with liking Quidditch," Gideon protested with laughter in his eyes.

"Did I ever say that there was anything wrong with liking it? It's the way he obsessed over it that drove me insane. He often talked about it when he should've been studying or doing his homework. Fun and games are well good, but you also need good grades to get anywhere in life," Hermione explained.

The twins had to agree with that last statement as there was a time to relax and have fun and a time to study hard so they would get good grades.

"So why don't we relax for the rest of the night?" Gideon said.

"Well, if we are going to relax I don't see why I can't go to a nearby restaurant and pick up some dinner," Hermione said. "While I do have some Muggle money the bills have dates on them, so I'll have to stop by Gringotts and exchange some Galleons."

Hermione had emptied her Gringotts account in her time and while she had changed some of it to pounds she had kept the rest of it in Galleons. The money from her own time were useless in the past because they had dates on them, so she wouldn't be able to use them until those dates came around in a decade or so. Galleons, however, didn't have dates on them and could be used anytime.

"Sounds good," Fabian said eagerly.

Much too Hermione's surprise at the time she had learned that the twins didn't stick strictly to the magical world. They had tried some of the restaurants that were nearby and so really liked Muggle food. This pleased Hermione immensely because it told her that unlike a lot of wizarding folks they weren't against trying Muggle things, even if that was something as simple as food from the mundane world. If she married the twins she didn't want to give up her Muggle heritage completely, even if they stuck mostly to the magical world. She would like to eat out in fine restaurants, go to museums or an amusement park. She would like any kids to be comfortable in both worlds as well. Playing in the park with those that didn't have magic for example. There were so many more things to do in the Muggle world, much more then the magical one that there was no way she could give up her heritage. She couldn't see why it shouldn't be possible to combine some of the best aspects of both worlds. She knew that many magicals in our own time didn't think like she did, but she was determined to have feet both worlds and if that wasn't okay with the twins then their relationship with her was over before it even began. However, considering that Gideon and Fabian loved Muggle restaurants she didn't see them having a problem with other things related to the regular world.

"That sounds really good," Fabian said. "Why don't you stop by the Italian place that's just a block away, once you return from Gringotts. I think you know what we like by now."

"I do," Hermione said amused. "It's nice to know that you don't avoid the Muggle world completely, even if it's just because you like the food."

"We're not as stuck up as most other purebloods," Fabian protested teasingly.

"Believe me, I've noticed. If you were as stuck up as say someone like Lucius Malfoy I never would have agreed to date you at all or even live with you," Hermione said. "People like that make me just want to hex them and believe me his son is just as bad, though I have to admit that Draco Malfoy has none of the subtly of his father. In my time he's just a loudmouth braggart, though he does change considerably over the years I knew him."

Hermione gathered up her beaded bag before heading out the door. "I'll be back soon. Set the table if you would please."

Neither twin realized it, but they immediately obeyed the command as soon as the door latched shut behind the woman they hoped would be their future wife.

~~~Gideon, Hermione, Fabian~~~


	5. Chapter 5

Part 5

"So how are you handling being thrown so far into the past?" Lily asked.

Hermione had gotten an owl from Lily just a few days ago. Lily, Alice and her had become friends over the last few months. Hermione knew it was only natural, because for one thing she was only a few years older than they were and for another they were grateful that she had saved both them and their families from a terrible fate. The Potters now knew that they had died in her original time leaving their son an orphan, that Dumbledore had placed with Lily's sister and her husband, which was the last place he should've gone, except into the hands of Death Eaters. As for the Longbottoms Alice and her husband Frank had ended up driven insane by overuse of the Cruciatus Curse and ended up in St. Mungo's in their permanent spell damage ward, while their son Neville had ended up growing up with his very overbearing grandmother making him very shy.

Besides, in someways she and Lily were very similar in their thought processes, though certainly not in their personalities, so they got along fairly well. Lily was rapidly becoming her best girlfriend in this time, with Alice a close second.

Part of that was that both women knew their fates and she was helping them to avoid them simply by being there and giving them the information they needed, though that didn't mean that they didn't have to be careful. Terrible things could still happen to them and they could still end up in a similar situation, even if it happened in a different way from the original timeline.

She and Remus were also fairly close probably because he was the smart, logical one of the Marauders, something she had already known from her time. As for the Prewett twins she felt totally different about them altogether, though she had yet to tell them.

"I'm handling it okay," Hermione answered. "I miss my friends and my parents in particular, but it's not like I intended to be thrown back in time. Besides, my two best friends had already died by the time I was thrown back. Once I was here I didn't see any reason that things couldn't be changed to the point that things didn't happen the same way in the future. Voldemort will soon be gone, permanently and then we can go about changing the British magical world for the better."

"Yes, things need to change or there will just be another Dark Wizard sometime in the future, probably in our lifetimes," Lily immediately agreed.

That was one thing Hermione really appreciated and that was Lily Potter was just as intelligent as she was. She understood that the inherent bigotry within the British wizarding world would just lead to another Dark Wizard sometime in the next 50 years or so and then another after that

"Probably," Hermione agreed. "Voldemort was just around the corner from Grindelwald, as he was already in school when Grindelwald was causing his reign of terror. I won't be surprised if there is another Dark Wizard out there that's thinking about following in Voldemort's footsteps, it might even be one of his Death Eaters, though I freely admit that that most of them are inbred idiots."

"Still, there are exceptions," Lily said as she ate her lunch.

"Yes, there are. I'm going to do the best I can to change the British wizarding world where the bigotry isn't so blatant," Hermione said.

"It helps that both James, and Frank are on the Wizengamot," Lily said and Hermione nodded.

"So are the Bones and that will give us three votes right there," Hermione agreed.

"There are plenty other families that will agree with what we want to do as well like the Abbotts, so it won't be too hard to get them on our side so that changes can be made," Lily said.

"I'm just glad that the Dolores Umbridge isn't on the Wizengamot, nor a part of the ministry yet," Hermione said with an expression of disgust.

"What has this person done to offend you so deeply?" Lily asked in surprised when she notice Hermione look of disgust.

Hermione explained all about Umbridge and how she was a bigot of the highest order and had put laws against other creatures including werewolves and centaurs and that she was basically a blood purist and supported the pureblood agenda. "Cornelius Fudge who was minister in my time basically gave her free rein. She made the lives of the students hell in our fifth year, because Dumbledore couldn't find anybody to take the DADA position."

"Yes, I see why you dislike her so much," Lily admitted.

"You saw her in my memory when I showed those in the Order in Dumbledore's Pensieve."

"I did, but I had forgotten." Lily admitted. "There was just so much going on at the time. I was worrying for my son that had to be born."

"She made it even harder for people like Remus to find work. Most werewolves hate what they are and just want a home, decent work and a family. Of course there are exceptions," Hermione said, thinking about Fenrir Greyback.

Lily knew that Hermione was referring to Fenrir Greyback who enjoyed biting children in particular. He was the one that had bitten Remus as a little boy.

"You know that's why it was decided not to tell you and James until after you were pregnant with Harry as I didn't want your worrying to block conception," Hermione added answering her friend's earlier comment. "If anybody is familiar with what worry and stress will do to you it's me and I was not about to let my best friend not be born."

Lily smiled at that. She knew that she was going to make Hermione's Harry's godmother as they had gotten quite close over the last several months. She had been going to ask Alice, but it had been decided that Hermione would be best, considering that she had been best friends with her son in the future. She was only a few weeks from giving birth, so it wouldn't be long now. She could hardly wait and not because she couldn't wait to get rid of the backaches, the swollen ankles and the other aches and and pains associated with pregnancy, but because she couldn't wait for her son to be born and she knew that Hermione couldn't either.

"It won't be long now," Hermione said in an uncanny echo of Lily's own thoughts.

"I can hardly wait and not because I'm just ready to give birth, but I know how special my son will grow up to be. You saved my son from a terrible fate and I will always be grateful to you for that," Lily said. "I know you didn't ask to come back and that it was fate or some other nebulous force that brought you to this time, but once you realized your situation you immediately decided to make changes. You even contacted someone you despise as you knew he could help you. That takes real courage," Lily added when she saw Hermione was about to protest. "Personally, I wouldn't have been able to prevent myself from punching Dumbledore in the nose once I saw what he had done to my son. I've always been handy with charms and by the time I was done the headmaster wouldn't have been recognizable as human I promise you."

Hermione giggled did that. "I have to admit I agree with you and I've always been really handy with Transfiguration and I would've turned him into a baboon or something endangered that a zoo would want because the species is nearly extinct. We could've made a tidy profit by selling him in his animal form."

"That would've been hilarious," Lily giggled.

"Unfortunately it can't happen," Hermione sighed. "Right now, the wizarding world needs Dumbledore too much. I've come to realize that this Dumbledore is very different from the one in my own time. I think he had gone senile in my time as it makes his actions make so much sense if that's the case, particularly those concerning Harry. He was also likely obsessed with the prophecy, fulfilling it the way he believed it should be fulfilled, which didn't help. The fact that he's a born meddler doesn't help either. His actions put the school in danger more than once over the years I attended and I don't think this Dumbledore would ever do that. Even magicals can go senile you know, so it's not just a Muggle problem."

"I suppose we can't blame this version of Dumbledore for the actions of his future self," Lily said looking almost disappointed that she wouldn't be up to hex the old wizard into oblivion.

"No, we really can't as it wouldn't be fair. The stuff I went through hasn't happened yet and once Voldemort is gone it never will. All it's going to take is for someone to get in a lucky shot because he has no Horcruxes left now," Hermione agreed.

She, the Prewett twins, Remus, Sirius, James and Dumbledore had put Hermione's idea into action some months ago. She had told Dumbledore how they could get past enchantment on the ring of sinks that led to the Chamber of Secrets.

Dumbledore had blinked at her in astonishment and admitted that it was such a simple solution that he was surprised it had never entered his mind. Hermione had then informed him that was because having magic seemed to make a person unable to think logically or at least that was true of great majority of witches and wizards. She had asked Dumbledore why they would try to get past such an ancient and powerful enchantment when it would likely destroy the bathroom if they managed it. Going through the floor seemed a much simpler solution and would leave the bathroom mostly intact. None of them spoke Parseltongue, so why bother to go up against such ancient magic and Dumbledore had agreed along with everyone else. It had been relatively easy to destroy once they had entered the chamber, as the basilisk had been sleeping ever since Tom Riddle had left it there after killing Myrtle Warren, a Muggle-born witch. Getting past the door that led into the chamber had been simple considering that Tom Riddle had apparently left it open The last time he had been there. Extremely careless of the one that became Voldemort but maybe he thought that even if somebody figured out where the entrance was they would never be up to get past it. Tom Riddle, even as a teenager was certainly arrogant enough to believe that nobody would be able to get into the Chamber of Secrets except for him. But then, Parseltongue was a rare talent in Britain and also considered dark, so perhaps, it wasn't so arrogant after all.

They had brought several roosters along and made sure that they crowed at the appropriate time, by making the rooster believe that the sun was rising. A simple sunburst charm had accomplished the goal quite easily and the basilisk was dead soon after they had entered the chamber. It's death throes had shaken the foundation of the castle, so it was a good thing they had waited until the Christmas holidays.

It had been nearly anticlimactic and Hermione at least was astonished that it had been so easy to get rid of a basilisk that had put her and several of our classmates in the infirmary petrified in her time. She couldn't help but wonder why Dumbledore had never dealt with such a dangerous creature that was within the castle walls and therefore, a danger to the students. She supposed that, even if he had known where the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets was there was no way he could've gone past the powerful enchantments without speaking Parseltongue. Still, the solution had been fairly simple, if only he had looked at it logically, which a lot of witches and wizards were lacking unfortunately. She supposed she was being unfair as it wasn't exactly encouraged to think for oneself not in magical Britain at least, which was part of the problem, but only part. Still, the basilisk was dealt with and that was what mattered. There would be no great monster attacking the students once Harry started school.

The basilisk was worth a great deal and Dumbledore had agreed to split the funds between Hermione, the school and Snape who was going to do the rendering work. Sirius and James also deserved a portion as did the Prewett twins, but they had turned it down for different reasons. James and Sirius had plenty of money of their own due to their family fortunes so there was no point of taking away from those that didn't have so much. Thanks to Lily, the Potter fortune had increased considerably since they had gotten married thanks to her knowledge of the Muggle world and so he had no need of the money from a dead basilisk.

As for the twins they knew the ministry would be suspicious if somebody happened to check into their Gringotts account for whatever reason, so it was better if they didn't take any of what the basilisk parts would be worth once sold. Somebody might not ever look into their Gringotts account with the proper legal authority, but you never knew so the twins felt it would better be safe just in case. However Hermione or 'Mia' was an unknown and essentially didn't exist for the ministry, so it was safe for her to take a portion of the money that would be made once the parts were sold. Dumbledore had agreed and so the money made would be split between Hogwarts, Snape and Mia.

"So any potential boyfriends?" Lily asked her friend already suspecting that she was interested in at least one of the Prewett twins and vice versa. She had seen at Order meetings how the Prewett twins kept others away from her at least when it came to her getting involved in a possible relationship. Sirius had tried to flirt with her and the twins had stepped in immediately and put a stop to it. Sirius may be a flirt, but he wasn't stupid so he had backed off, though Lily was sure he was just waiting for an opportunity to flirt some more, but he wouldn't so long as the twins were in the picture. He had that much decency at least.

It was obvious that the twins were interested in this young woman from the future, but she wasn't entirely sure if Mia realized it. Mia seemed rather oblivious, but Lily supposed if you had been fighting a war basically since you were 11 then finding yourself a boyfriend wasn't exactly high on the list of priorities.

Hermione blushed and Lily knew instantly that she had been right.

"Ah! I see I was right," Lily said triumphantly.

"You know I was dating someone?" Hermione asked surprised.

"No, I didn't, but I knew that it was bound to happen eventually, as human beings are not meant to be alone. Yes, I'm aware, that a lot of people choose never to marry, but most humans magical or not to get married at some point. I knew that several of the male Order members were interested in you and I saw that you didn't really notice or at least didn't take it seriously. I also saw how Gideon and Fabian reacted whenever Kingsley or Sirius flirted with you. Didn't you notice that they put a stop to others flirting with you immediately. They wouldn't have done that if they weren't interested and probably a little jealous as well."

"I did notice at the time, and I was grateful," Hermione admitted. "I really didn't think anything of it though, other then they were helping me out as I didn't really have time to flirt or at that time the desire to."

"No, you were too busy changing our past so we could have a better future," Lily teased her.

"Well, I figured I had been thrown back in time for a reason," Hermione shrugged casually. "I couldn't see being sent here as just a way to save my life, even if I know I would have been dead if I hadn't ended up here. I have no doubt that was the Death Eater who was chasing me original intention."

"They're all just murdering bastards," Lily said and Hermione nodded in agreement.

"All except ones like Regulus who was forced by his mother whose a very bad witch. In my time, Regulus was the perfect son that did what his parents wanted, changed his mind once he realized that Voldemort was basically immortal and was killed for his betrayal. Regulus isn't a bad boy at all really, but was just pressured by his parents until he gave in. His mother harped on him until he finally did what she wanted. Believe me, his mother was horrible, as I met her portrait in the future. I'm glad I never met the live version, as her portrait was bad enough. Besides, nobody should die at just 18 years old as we're still immature at that age or at least most of us are."

"Yes, I have to agree that 18 is way too young to die," Lily said. "You haven't really had a chance to live life yet, since kids have basically just graduated from some school at that age. They haven't had a chance to have a job they love, meet a girl or boy they like, get married, have children."

"I don't think that Regulus or Sirius's mother cared that she was at least partially at fault for her youngest son's death. Regulus died before he ever really had a chance to live in my time and Sirius dies in our fifth year, which is the end of the House of Black or at least the main line, because he was the last known heir. Sirius left everything to Harry because his grandmother was a Black as well, but Harry definitely never had a chance to get married and have kids, so that ended two important wizarding lines once he was murdered. That kind of thing might not be important to you and me, but it's certainly important to the purebloods."

"That won't happen this time," Lily said looking instantly fierce and protective, even as she clutched her belly protectively.

"No, it won't I promise you that," Hermione said her eyes glimmering with determination. "Harry might not be my brother in this time, but he will definitely be my nephew and I won't allow a deranged old coot to decide his destiny. If I have my way there will be no stupid prophecy for Dumbledore to get obsessed over. I think that's one thing that started the headmaster's decline you know."

"The prophecy?" Lily asked and Hermione nodded.

"I think that's what started him down the path to going senile. I think he became so obsessed with it that he was determined to have it come true the way he wanted it to. He couldn't just let it play out he had to meddle, which he's famous for doing by the way. I think that prophecy is the main reason he left Harry with your sister and her husband. I suspect that he wanted Harry to be humble and look up to him with awe, so that he could be a mentor to him when the time came. He didn't want fame to go to Harry's head, make him arrogant and full of himself and while I can understand that, there were certainly families that would have loved him and raised him to be a good person instead of what happened. I don't believe that those blood wards could possibly have protected him or really even worked considering from what I know there was absolutely no love in that home and the wards were supposedly based on love and also your sacrifice. I don't see how those wards could work, no matter what Dumbledore's instruments said."

"So you think it's sheer dumb luck that he wasn't killed in his time with my sister."

"Yes, I do, because I know he was physically abused and he told me he likely would've died if not for his magic. My Dumbledore made a bad mistake there but refused to admit it. Besides, babies and young children aren't that hard to kill really, even those with magic, so I suspect that it was Harry's magic that kept him alive," Hermione explained. "I doubt that woman even bothered to change Harry's diapers more than once a day.

"From what I know I'm actually surprised Petunia just didn't take him to an orphanage," Lily said.

"I don't think she could, because of the letter that Dumbledore left tucked into Harry's blankets. It probably had some kind of charm on it so the minute she took him into her home that likely sealed her fate," said Hermione. "It's just a theory I have had for awhile, but I think I'm right, because I can't see your sister keeping an unwanted baby otherwise."

"You know that's totally unfair and that Dumbledore didn't even knock on the door to ask whether or not my sister was willing to take him in," Lily said.

"It's definitely rude anyway," Hermione agreed. "Dumbledore never even considered that they might not want the baby, their nephew or not and the headmaster gave them 1001 reasons to resent Harry being placed on their doorstep. It's not easy to control your resentment especially when you're not the nicest people anyway. It probably never even occurred to the Dursleys that Harry was innocent in the whole affair, because he was only a little bit over a year old when you died. I'm not entirely sure if it was just your sister that was a bad influence on Vernon or if it was the other way around. In any case, they are not the type of people that you can force to take in a child and expect them to treat that child with love and care. Considering that you never made up with your sister when you were alive it's really no wonder that she took out her resentment, anger and hate on the only object available to her, her nephew."

"Maybe Dumbledore knew how Petunia would respond if asked to take in her nephew if he did knock on the door so he didn't bother," Lily speculated. "I had told him some things about Petunia after all, so he probably guessed that she would just slam the door in his face."

"That sounds just like the headmaster I knew," Hermione snorted. "He apparently doesn't know a damn thing about human nature and for a man that's over 125 in this time and nearly 150 in my own that's ridiculous or perhaps he just chose to ignore it. For someone who is as old, as he is that's absolutely pitiful, especially for someone as intelligent as he supposedly is."

"So back to the subject we were discussing a few minutes ago," Lily said.

"I was actually hoping you had forgotten about that topic," Hermione said.

"I just bet you were," Lily giggled. "So does this mean you're dating one of the Prewett twins?"

"Both actually," Hermione blushed.

"Both?" Lily asked in astonishment.

"Triads aren't all that unusual in the wizarding world," explained Hermione. "It's not as common as it once was, but it still happens sometime and it's perfectly legal. Even in my time it's legal."

"So how did that happen?" Lily asked.

"They both just decided that they were interested in me and asked me if I'd be willing to date both of them until we saw where the relationship took us. They told me that if I was more interested in one of them then the other would withdraw or if I wasn't interested in either one of them I was free to find someone else."

"So how is it going?" Lily asked once she had gotten over her shock.

"It's going fine," Hermione blushed.

"You love them," Lily said suddenly, as if coming to a forgone conclusion.

"I do," Hermione admitted after a long silence. "I haven't told them so yet, but I probably should soon. I was already strongly attracted to them, but I tried to fight that attraction at first."

"Why would you?" Lily asked.

"Because there was so much to do to prevent the future I come from, from happening," explained Hermione. "And because I was afraid. I've never truly been in love before. George and I agreed to date after the war was over, but unfortunately, he's just a young child at the moment so that option is denied me."

"George Weasley?" Lily asked Hermione nodded.

"I always liked him for some reason and he was only 15 months older than I was in my time, even if we were always two years apart in school, but that's because my birthday is in late September."

"So the age difference is nothing," Lily said.

"That was true in my time, but it's not any longer. Both Fabian and Gideon look a great deal like the twins that I knew so well, so it's no wonder I started to have a gigantic crush on them."

"I hope you don't see them as a substitute for George," Lily said worried.

"No, of course, I don't. I turned them down at first, because I thought I should remain alone, just because this wasn't my time and because I was afraid, but luckily, they talked some sense into me. They told me that magicals live a long time and that it wouldn't be healthy for me to live alone for the rest of my life. They were right and I knew it. Magicals can live for several hundred years depending on numerous factors of course. I wasn't really sure how the relationship was going to work out, but it's going splendidly and certainly better than I expected. I really think that I could marry them and be happy, though I made sure they understood that I wasn't going to be a stay-at-home mother and I was going to have my own career. Whether I love them or not I refuse to be treated as if my desires are unimportant. I reminded them that I came from the modern world where a lot of women have careers if they desire to."

"How did they respond that?" Lily asked curiously.

"Certainly better than I really expected, considering what time they grew up in. I know you noticed that the British wizarding world is way behind the modern one," Hermione suggested.

"Yes, it really is," Lily agreed. "I've learned to love the wizarding world though, even if I do wish it was a little more modern."

"Well, I told the twins that I was going to maintain contact with my roots as I never could have just live in the wizarding one after I graduated as me and my parents were always extremely close and there was no way I could have abandoned them."

"Yeah, that's what the wizarding world seems to expect for those parents without magic. They seem to expect them to put their children on the train and then basically forget about them completely. I don't think those in charge really think about the fact that parents love their kids at least mostly and there is no way that they are going to abandon their children just so they can live in a strange world they know little about. There seems to be a great chasm between the British wizarding world and the normal one which I think is a shame."

"That's something I'm going to try to change in the future," Hermione said. "I agree with you, by the way, I think it's ridiculous. I already told Dumbledore this is something that needs to be corrected, because witches and wizards are sticking out more and more as the world gets more modern and some nonmagical someday is going to discover us just because witches and wizards don't know how to dress appropriately for the time."

"If only more people would see that," Lily sighed. "Even Muggle-borns for the most part don't see it the way we do."

The two chatted a little more and Lily tried to get Hermione to reveal more about the relationship she had with the twins, Hermione refused to indulge her with details and Lily pouted in disappointment.

~~~Gideon, Hermione, Fabian~~~

"So are you ready to tell Molly about you relationship with Fabian and I?" Gideon asked Hermione.

"Yes," Hermione said. "Considering that you and Fabian just proposed and I said yes, we really need to, although I suspect that Molly already knows that we've been dating. She implied awhile back that I had feelings for you and that you had feelings for me. At the time as you're aware I was refusing to acknowledge my feelings."

"Both Fabian and I understand why now that we know a lot more about your past," Gideon said. "Even verbal insults can affect someone and if you're told you are plain or ugly or that nobody would ever want you for more then a brief relationship often enough then you start to believe it."

"Yes, children are very impressionable, even intelligent ones," Hermione agreed, feeling love swell through her as Gideon placed a gentle hand on her arm, a rather intimate gesture and meant to be so. She really enjoyed those kind of touches as it was subtle and discreet and used mostly in public places, but it let her know that she was loved for herself and not just her brain. She could actually see herself bearing Fabian and Gideon's children after Voldemort was dead of course. When the twins proposed she knew she loved them and so accepted, as they had been right when they told her that she couldn't live the rest of her life alone with only a few friends to keep her from going insane.

She knew she'd love them enough to last a lifetime and she knew that they loved her enough to allow her to break out of the traditional wizarding role of being a homemaker and child bearer. This was the 80s and the 60s in which they had grown up had long since vanished. In the Muggle world a lot of women worked now to help provide for their families, but the wizarding world here in England was different she knew, as it was very far behind the rest of the world. She knew that Molly for example wouldn't likely approve, but she did have to have something useful to do or she would go insane. Sure, she'd look after the kids when the time came but that wasn't enough, not for her. Luckily, Gideon and Fabian understood this and agreed that she could find herself a job, though with the money from the basilisk carcass that was still coming in, in installments she had enough to live the rest of my life, just on the portion she received, even if things hadn't worked out between her and the twins.

"I suspect that Molly will be mad, that we didn't tell her we had started dating sooner and that we got engaged behind her back," Hermione said.

"Probably, but she'll understand eventually that we didn't want her to butt in, not when we weren't sure if the relationship was going to work out or not," Hermione said.

Gideon gave her a look so Hermione corrected her statement hastily. "Alright, I wasn't sure if it was going to work out and I didn't want Molly trying to force us together. I know her habit of meddling from my own time, even if I know she does it with the best of intentions."

"Yeah, I remember you telling Fabian and I about how she tried to force you and Ron together," Gideon said.

"Well, I wouldn't say forced, more like strongly encouraged, but I just didn't feel about your nephew that way. I think Molly understood that bringing new blood into the family would be a good thing, but that her youngest son was too offensive to get himself a girlfriend or at least keep one. No one with any brains would put up with his laziness, insults about almost everything or his tendency not to close his mouth when he is gulping food down as if it's about to become illegal. Inbreeding is the main problem of why purebloods often only have one child and is also the reason for the mental defects that so many families develop. The reason that so many of the Blacks are insane for instance is because they tend to breed too closely to their own cousins, just to keep their blood supposedly pure."

"That would certainly explain Bellatrix," Gideon mused. "Her parents are second cousins."

"Which is much too closely related to be safe. I think Andromeda and Narcissa got really lucky that they didn't end up with their older sister's madness. I've heard that magic takes care of a lot of things that would effect a Muggle, but it doesn't always and Bellatrix is just one of those people that magic couldn't help."

"Come on we better be going before we're late for dinner. Fabian is supposed to meet us there."

"I'll see you at the Burrow," Hermione agreed before disappearing with the soft pop.

Gideon looked at the spot where Mia had disappeared then swiftly followed her.

~~~Gideon, Hermione, Fabian~~~


	6. Chapter 6

Part 6

Hermione, Gideon met Fabian at the Burrow, but they kept the news about their engagement to themselves, which wasn't easy, as Hermione had trouble hiding the ring at least long enough for them to eat dinner, because she refused take it off for any reason.

Finally dinner was over and everybody gathered in the living room.

"We three have an announcement," Fabian told the other Weasleys.

"We've been dating for several months," Hermione said. "And both Fabian and Gideon just proposed yesterday."

Molly squealed excitedly at that. "I suspected you would get engaged eventually," Molly admitted. "I could see how much you cared for each other, even if Mia didn't want to see that at first.

"Why didn't you tell us sooner?" Arthur asked curiously. He was happy for them, as he'd always thought it was time for Molly's bothers to settle down, even though they were only in their early 20s. Neither one of them had seemed interested in doing so until they had met Hermione Granger from the future, even if her name was officially Mia Granger now. Arthur could definitely understand the need for the name change considering that her past self had just been born less than a year ago. It seemed rather a strange concept to have two of the same person present in the same time but since one was just a baby and the other was a 24-year-old woman, Arthur supposed that it wouldn't cause any trouble for the timeline. By the time that the baby Hermione Granger grew up, Mia would be over 20 years older and the similarities while present wouldn't be obvious. They would probably look like cousins, instead of the same person.

"Because I didn't want anybody trying to butt into our relationship with the best of intentions. Besides, Voldemort is still out there so the quieter we keep our relationship the better, as he's vindictive enough to come after Fabian and Gideon, since they've already escaped him once before and managed to take out four of his top level Death Eaters with help from the Order. Voldemort would simply love killing me to get revenge on them, as he would consider it a great treat to see how broken up they were at my death. He would take great delight at their grief over my murder I promise you. Mostly though, it was simply to new and I at least wanted a chance to explore our relationship without any outside interference. I never had a relationship in my own timeline, as I simply didn't have the time, not between my studies, helping keep Harry alive and fighting a war."

"A war that shouldn't have been fought by children," Molly said not for the first time.

"You already know I agree with you on that. Your future self actually said something similar on numerous occasions. The thing was that we were involved whether we wanted to be or not because Voldemort doesn't care what age you are," Hermione said simply. "If he sees you as a threat he's going to do his best to eliminate that threat. He doesn't care if you're just a kid trying to survive."

"I now understand why you kept it from us for so long," Arthur said not looking at his wife knowing who Mia was referring to, when she'd said she didn't want anybody interfering in their relationship. Molly could be a bit of a busybody and probably would have tried to help them out whether they wanted her to or not, even if that was just by giving them advice they hadn't asked for.

"I'm so happy that you're going to officially be part of the family, Mia," Molly said, as she rose to give the young woman a hug. "You were part of the family unofficially of course, in your own time, but this time you're going to truly be apart of the Weasleys, even if you'll technically be a Prewett."

"We were practically your children Harry and I in my time. I thought of you as a second mother even though mine was wonderful. My parents don't know me in this time so also would you walk me down the aisle?" Hermione asked.

"Of course, I'd be happy to," Arthur said beaming.

"However, the wedding will not be taking place until after Voldemort is defeated as is just too dangerous," Fabian said.

"We can't afford to be distracted right now and Mia definitely doesn't need to get pregnant until after that monster is no more."

"But it might be a long time before he's gone," Molly protested.

"Voldemort would take great delight in torturing me until I lost the baby and then killing me afterwards," Hermione told Arthur and Molly bluntly. "He's a monster that we need to destroy before we can all live our lives in peace."

Molly started to cry and Arthur comforted her. He understood why Mia had been so blunt, even though it had made Molly cry, because Molly just wanted everyone to be happy and while he could understand that now was not the time to hold a wedding. It was quite possible that Voldemort's Death Eaters would try to disrupt it, just to get at his brothers-in-law. Losing Mia would devastate both of them and make it almost impossible for them to fight and survive because they'd either be too busy grieving or so lost an anger and rage that they wouldn't be as careful as they should be, when facing such capable opponents. All it would take was one Killing Curse hitting one of the twins and he would be dead, which would devastate the other one since twins always shared a special connection in the magical world particularly identical ones.

"I'm really sorry I upset you Molly, but I know how Voldemort thinks from my own time and he's no better in this one. Don't you worry about him he'll be gone soon," Hermione added. "Dumbledore and I are developing a plan and I won't say anymore than that. Too dangerous."

Molly and Arthur nodded Molly's tears having dried. Molly now had a dangerous glint in her eyes and Hermione knew that she was ready to fight for peace, and for her family, but Hermione didn't want the Weasleys to be involved, because their children were still young right now and it wouldn't do for one of them to be killed.

"I promise you this Molly. As soon as that monster is gone I'll be pregnant soon afterwards. You'll soon have another little one to look after along with your own kids."

Molly perked up at that as she would like nothing more then to have her brothers kids to look after sometimes.

"I also plan on having more than one, though I don't know I want as many as you have."

"I have to admit that six kids is a lot," Arthur said.

"Still, you love them and that's all that matters," Hermione said. "They'll all grow up and you'll be proud of all of them."

Eventually anyway when it came to Fred and George, Hermione added in her thoughts.

"I think it's time we retire for the night," Gideon suggested.

"You go ahead I want a word with your sister right quick," Hermione told the twins. "It's nothing bad I promise I just want to ask her couple of things."

The twins took that to mean that it was something to do with womanly concerns and left.

"What did you want to talk to me about, Mia?" Molly said once Arthur had left.

"I was just wondering if you would like to have twins again even though in my timeline your daughter was a singleton."

"You can guarantee that?" Molly asked time not to get excited.

"If I could not I wouldn't have said anything," Hermione said.

"How?" Molly asked.

"There's a potion in the future that speeds up a woman's ovulation. It's used mostly for purebloods who have trouble conceiving and it nearly guarantees that they'll have at least one healthy child. In your case, it's a little different, because you don't have any trouble getting pregnant or carrying your children to term, so the potion will almost certainly guarantee you have at least two. Of course, it's possible that it would be more than that, but that's not a certainty or anything. I know that it's around the time that you get pregnant with your daughter, as she's a bit more then a year older than Ron. If you don't want this then I don't have to fix you that potion and we can just forget it. The reason I'm mentioning this is that twin girls are the most common type, so the likelihood is that you'll have two girls though there's no guarantees. I know you'll love whatever you get, whether that's two girls or a boy and a girl."

"So at least one girl is guaranteed," Molly said and Hermione nodded.

"Yes, so long as you check to make sure you're pregnant first. Do it every day. All the potion does really is guarantee that you'll release more than one egg, because it speeds up a woman's ovulation. The egg that's released is good for 72 hours before the quality starts to degrade. You'll likely end up with at least fraternal twins instead of identical like Fabian and Gideon or Fred and George. Even if this doesn't work the potion won't do you any harm, but it should because you're already fertile, especially for a pureblooded woman, which tells me that you and Arthur are extremely compatible."

"How do you know all this?" Molly asked.

"Because Muggles have done research in the area of a woman's fertility and witches are no different really, not in that regard. As for how I know about the potion, let's just say I like to read and I ran across it in a recent edition of the Potioneer, well, recent in my time. I bought almost my whole life back with me when I was thrown back in time as it was all in my beaded bag, which came with me. I probably have well over 2000 books including the newest edition of the periodical I mentioned. It gives very precise directions on how to prepare the potion, so I'll have no problems as potions was one of my best subject. My only demand is that you tell no one you took a potion in order to get twins again. Not even your husband is to know. He'll likely just put it down to luck if you do have twins again and if he asks you can tell him that it's because twins run in your family and since you already had one set it was likely that you'd have another. Also you can mention to Arthur that I know of some good companies that he can invest in that will make him a tidy return so that he can support you and his children better."

"Is it what you doing kind of dishonest?" Molly asked.

"I suppose," Hermione admitted, "It would be considered insider trading at the very least. However, I know how much Arthur struggles just to support you and the six children he has and so long as we don't go overboard, make just enough, so that he no longer has trouble supporting his family I can live with a little guilt on my conscience. This way your children won't have to go to Hogwarts in secondhand robes and old family wands. I know for fact, that Ron's wasn't a very good match for him, which is one of the reasons he struggled so much with his spellwork in my time. I believe that buying him a new wand once he reaches school age will help his confidence immensely. He had a real problem with his spellwork and a giant chip on his shoulder in my time, always trying to measure up to his older brothers who all turned out to be very talented. He actually broke his wand in second year, so you would've ended up buying him a new one anyway and this time you won't have to struggle for the money."

Molly nodded at what Hermione was saying and agreed to talk to Arthur.

"I'll give you the name of the companies I'm thinking about when you ask or I can talk to the goblins for you if you want me to as your representative or Arthur can do it himself. The goblins will be happy to invest for anyone, so long as you're polite to them, as they have a real thing about rudeness. Most witches and wizards here in Britain are so rude to them that they don't go out of their way to help them. A little politeness goes a long way."

Molly nodded again for it did make sense. Nobody liked somebody who was rude to them all the time just because they were different, like in the case of the goblins who were a totally different species.

"I'll talk to Arthur about the money," Molly promised.

"I'm even willing to loan you some and he can pay me back once he has a nice return," Hermione offered.

"But it's your money," Molly protested.

"Yes, it is, but it's only going to be a loan. I do expect to be paid back. I know these companies I'm mentioning do very well in this time and the people who invested in them and became shareholders did very well, well enough that they lived comfortably with their families. They weren't rich, but they were comfortable enough that they didn't have to worry about putting their children through university. That's where you go for a higher education once you finish high school. You take your A-levels, which is the equivalent of taking your N.E.W.T.s in the magical world. There are also plenty of scholarship programs out there as some families can't afford to send their children to university without one. University cost tens of thousands of pounds for a full education. Trust me they are very expensive. Of course, it also depends on which one you get into, as some are more prestigious than others and therefore, more expensive."

"And you said that these people didn't have to worry about sending their children to one of these universities for a higher education?" Molly wanted to confirm what Hermione had said. "Not even if they had more than one child?"

"Most Muggles have at least two or sometimes three children, but their parents were able to send all of them to universities with no problem if they didn't get scholarships, though there is a test to get into whichever one they choose. It's to make sure they can handle the coursework. Becoming a lawyer for example is a very hard thing to do and you have to be really intelligent. It takes at least most of a year just to remember all the legal terms."

Hermione knew that Molly would recognize that an attorney, while different in the Muggle world was similar enough that she could make a decent comparison.

"Scholarship are much sought after, especially for those who can't send their children to get a higher education without one," Hermione added.

"Yes, Hogwarts used to have a scholarship program to, but I'm afraid they don't anymore," said Molly.

"Sometimes, they only give out partial scholarships, enough for books and their tuition, but it doesn't include taking summer courses or lab time if they're taking something like chemistry which requires it. Some college age students have to get a job in order to pay for anything the scholarship doesn't cover. Don't worry about the money Molly I have more than I'll ever need due to the returns from the carcass of that basilisk. Even if Fabian, Gideon and I had 15 children I still wouldn't have any trouble supporting them by myself."

"Wow that's a lot," Molly said blinking.

"Don't get any ideas I'm not going to have that many," Hermione laughed. "I was just trying to get you to understand that I have more Galleons to my name than I ever I thought I would. Basilisk parts can be used in many potions and they are extremely rare and hard to come by. Only an idiot breeds a monster that can kill you with a look. The one we killed was at least 60 feet long and worth many millions of Galleons. The twins didn't want any part of that because they were afraid the ministry might check into their accounts sometime and be suspicious of where the money came from. They didn't want to have to explain about how they had come into so much money as we tried to keep the fact that a monster, a basilisk no less, existed under Hogwarts quiet. The ministry is filled with spies for the Dark Lord and we definitely don't want him hearing about the death of his pet. James and Sirius who also helped have family fortunes of their own, so they didn't want any of the proceeds either. However, I am an unknown and I was also as poor as a church mouse, before this because the Muggle pounds I have are not usable in this time, as they have dates on the bills. It was agreed that I get a portion of the proceeds because I'm the one that not only told Dumbledore where the Chamber of Secrets was I figured out how to avoid the ancient enchantment that requires a password that is in Parseltongue. The enchantment is still going strong and we would've destroyed the bathroom trying to get the entrance to open when I came up with a much simpler solution."

"What solution was that?" Molly asked curiously.

"I simply suggested that we heft up one of the stones that make up the floor with magic and go through the hole. The enchantment is only around the sinks in the girls bathroom where Moaning Myrtle was killed," Hermione explained.

"That's simple and brilliant, Mia," Molly said a little awed, that the solution was so simple.

"Dumbledore certainly thought so," Hermione smirked. "As I've said before most magicals don't have an ounce of logic. They either never had it in the first place or they use magic so much that they lose their ability to think of solutions for themselves. Don't worry about the money and tell Arthur that the profits from the basilisk are more then enough to support many children, even splitting the profits three ways. The profits were split between me, Hogwarts and Snape, because he's the one that did the rendering."

"I'll talk to him in the morning," Molly promised again, "and I'll also think about taking that potion. I would love to have twins again, especially if they both turned out to be girls."

"That's why I suggested it as I knew you would," Hermione said. "I knew you quite well in my time. Just let me know if you want to do it, because it's not long before you'll get pregnant with your last child, as the timing will be correct in just a few months, so take as long as you want to make a decision. Your daughter was originally born in May so that means you likely got pregnant sometime in September."

"I'll let you know as soon as Arthur and I reach a decision," Molly promised.

"I had better be getting home then, as I'm sure the twins will start to worry, before too much longer as it's getting late," Hermione said rising to her feet immediately heading the front door.

"Thank you so much for all you've done for my family," Molly said, as she hugged Mia around her waist.

"Believe me, you're quite welcome," Hermione said warmly. "You were just as much of a mother to me in my time as my own was. I just wanted to do something for you in return for all the love and care that you gave me."

The two women parted ways quite content with how the conversation had gone.

~~~Gideon, Hermione, Fabian~~~

"So what took so long?" Fabian immediately asked as Hermione entered the apartment.

"We were about to get worried," Gideon added.

"Sit down and I'll explain," Hermione promised. "Good, you've already fixed tea," Hermione added looking pleased, pouring herself a cup and then heating it up with the tap of her wand.

"I wanted to talk to Molly alone, because I had a couple of suggestions for her that I didn't want anybody else to overhear until I knew how she would react."

"What kind of suggestions?" Fabian asked not suspiciously just curiously.

"Well, I know of several Muggle companies that make decent profits in this time and so I suggested to Molly that Arthur could invest in them. I know how much Arthur struggles to provide for his family and I can't blame him for not wanting to leave a job he loves. I wanted to see how she would react before I told you what I've been thinking. The businesses I have in mind make enough of a profit that he'd be able to send his children to Hogwarts with new robes, wands and books instead of secondhand and they'd be able to pay school fees without any trouble instead of him struggling to do so. I also said that I would loan him the money initially and he could pay me back over time. Molly promised to mention it to Arthur in the morning."

"That's very generous of you, Mia," Fabian said warmly.

"I just know them in my time and how much Arthur struggled to pay Hogwarts fees for all seven of his children. I know how much Ron at least got teased for his lack of family money and for his secondhand clothes and secondhand books. Even his wand belonged to a relative and I believe it was a very poor match for him because he struggled with his spellwork, except Charms, which he was really good at. The wand that was handed down just wasn't very suitable for him that's all. I'm hoping that if he goes to school with new clothes, books and wand that he won't have such a giant chip on his shoulder like he did in my time. Ron had very little self-confidence and Draco Malfoy's taunting always got to him. I'm hoping this will help him do better in his classes and that he'll learn to control his temper as Ron's always had a thing about being poor."

"So Molly and Arthur will no longer have to struggle to pay the bills," Gideon said and Hermione nodded.

"They won't be wealthy like the Potters or the Malfoys, but they'll have financial security and that's all they would want," Hermione confirmed taking a sip of tea. "They would never accept I know if they were going to have to much gold in their vault, as that could lead to their children being too spoiled, or if not their children, their grandchildren. I won't have them turn into the equivalent of Draco Malfoy, which is why I suggested a few companies I know that do moderately well. Well enough, to provide a comfortable life for those that invest in them, but not enough to be too extravagant. The Weasleys that survive the war are well grounded in reality. I know Bill and Charlie at least made comfortable lives for themselves."

"You sure do know a lot," Fabian said his lips twitching.

"I read a lot including the Financial Times, in my own time," Hermione said. "The Financial Times is different from the regular Times in the fact, that it gives more financial information. It happened to mention several companies that were started around now and how well they did."

"Did you talk about anything else because you were gone a long time, much longer than a simple conversation like that should take."

"If I tell you you must swear to never mention it to anyone, because I'm kind of meddling when I really shouldn't, but I owe the Weasleys a lot in my time as Arthur and Molly were practically my parents in the magical world at least. Mostly, I'm doing it because they took in Harry, who had never known love in his whole life, without a qualm, despite knowing how much danger that could place them in because of Voldemort. They did it because Ron was Harry's best friend and for no other reason. Being purebloods wouldn't necessarily have protected them because their views were well known."

"Alright then, we promise," Fabian said that Gideon repeated it immediately.

"If you need a wand oath we can do that," Gideon added.

"No your promises good enough for now, though I suggest you avoid Dumbledore for awhile, as he can't seem help but use Legilimency on people," Hermione told them.

"We know..." Gideon said sounding disgusted.

"...And we are still rather upset about that," Fabian added.

Hermione's lips twitched in amusement, but all she said was, "I don't blame you for being disgusted or upset because it is illegal, but he can't seem to help himself. He's one of those people that have to know everything and instead of requiring information honestly he does it illegally, even if most people never know it. I can teach you how to block him out, but he'll know instantly that you've acquired the skill and he'll know who taught you, as he'll recognize my magical signature. He already knows that I practice Occlumency, so he shouldn't be surprised if I taught you how to keep him out of your heads, especially since we're engaged now."

"It's a useful skill to know," Fabian acknowledged.

"So whenever we have time we'll let you teach us," Gideon said.

"He can't be the only Legilimens out there that tries to read people illegally," Fabian said.

"No, I know at least one more and that is my former Potions Teacher Snape," Hermione said, "but I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of people have the skill and use it on a regular basis to give themselves an advantage. I'm thinking mostly of the purebloods of course, as I wouldn't be surprised if the adults from the darker pureblood families in particular teach the skill to their children."

"So about this other thing that you want to talk to our sister about," Gideon said finally.

"I told her about a potion I knew from the future, one that will allow her to have at least twins instead of the singleton she had before. The reason I did this is the odds are high that she'll have two girls instead of a girl and a boy, because girl twins are the most common kind, at least in the Muggle world. They are much more common then two boys. All this potion does is allow a woman to drop more than one egg, which increases the chances of having more than one. I offered to brew it for her if she wanted to have more than a single girl like she did in my timeline.

"Won't this mess up the timeline?" Fabian asked awed at what his and his brother, Mia was offering their sister.

"The other timeline no longer exists," Hermione said. "It ceased to exist the minute I started changing things. This is one of the reasons I offered to invest some money into a few Muggle businesses as they will bring in more than enough for Molly and Arthur to provide for their children and themselves."

"You are the most generous, nicest, sweetest person I have ever known," Gideon said, as he picked her up and swung around, causing Hermione to laugh.

"It's no wonder we fell in love with you you've done so much for our family," Fabian said. "You not only saved Gideon and myself from dying you're making it easier on my sister and her husband to provide for their children."

"I owed them for taking Harry and myself in," Hermione shrugged nonchalantly, even while she blushed. "They might turn me down, you know."

"That's possible, but since Arthur knows it's only a loan he probably won't," Fabian said who knew his brother-in-law. "You suggested your idea in the right way and knew that both of them had a lot of pride, pride that would never accept a handout. A loan on the other hand is an entirely different matter. Since Arthur will know that it isn't a gift, he'll probably take you up on your generous offer."

"I hope so, because providing for seven children on Arthur's salary wasn't easy and I saw how much they struggled in my time. If Molly accepts my idea about taking that potion, she'll have at least eight children to deal with, with inadequate funds," Hermione explained.

"What do you mean at least eight children?" Gideon asked catching on to that one one phrase.

"It's possible that she'll have triplets," Hermione explained. "Most pureblood women have trouble conceiving even now, especially if they're married to a pureblood man. Arthur and Molly are the exception to the rule, which means two things. One: your sister is extremely fertile for a pureblood and two: she and Arthur are extremely compatible. The fact that they actually love each other and married for love might also have something to do with it, as love is a powerful force all on it's own."

Which was something that Hermione knew from experience.

"So you're saying because of these factors she might have three instead of two," Fabian said.

"Exactly," Hermione agreed. "It's just a possibility, I'm not saying it's going to happen."

"No, you didn't say that, but you suspect it will," Gideon said shrewdly.

Hermione shrugged, but didn't answer. Finally she said, "It's a possibility only. I'll tell you one thing they'll be the envy of most purebloods who are lucky to have even one child due to inbreeding, as I explained awhile ago. Of course, the fact that those pureblood arranged marriages usually don't involve love may also have something to do with it."

"Neither of us can wait to make you ours completely, but we also know that's not wise at present," Fabian said looking wistful.

"We really want to get you pregnant just like you promised our sister you would be soon after our wedding," Gideon added smiling smugly, as he thought all about Mia plump with his or Fabian's child.

"I want that too, so much," Hermione said softly, even while she blushed at Gideon's smug expression. She could imagine what he was thinking very easily. "I've never wanted anything so much in my life. I promise as soon as Voldemonkey is history we'll get married and start producing those children we all want. I'll agree to get pregnant twice by each of you and after that will be it."

"So that's at least four children, two for each of us," Gideon said with glee in his expression.

"We're likely to have at least one set of twins, considering twins run strongly in our family, so that will be at least five children," Fabian said

"I can assure we do have at least one set of twins if you like," Hermione offered.

"We'll think about it," Fabian said.

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves, we're not even married yet," Gideon added.

"I can at least see why you don't want us to mention anything about that potion," Fabian said finally after the lengthy silence.

"Yes, so can I," Gideon agreed. "Not only are you interfering with the future, since the potion hasn't been invented yet, you're also changing how many children our sister had originally."

"Which is why I want you to keep it a secret. If Dumbledore found out I used a potion from the future he would at least scold me for it. We've been getting along so well, I don't want to wreck our relationship, because of his habit of meddling in other people's lives or scolding them for things he has no right too scold them for. I'm only using the potion to help out somebody I consider family and I have no plans to supposedly steal the potion and sell it as my own invention. I will not have women flocking to my door wanting me to do the potion for them so they can conceive. I do not plan on ever using the potion again, at least not until it's been officially invented in a few years. No one ever has to know," Hermione explained.

"We agree to keep your secret," the twins said together.

There was suddenly a magical flash after the oath was given that meant that neither twin could talk about it, except with their future mate, which was fine.

"Thank you," Hermione said.

"You're welcome," Gideon said, as he kissed Hermione on the cheek.

"It's not like you're really doing anything wrong and in fact, you're helping our sister possibly have at least girl twins instead of the singleton she had in the original timeline," Fabian added.

"We know the headmaster would likely disagree with your actions, but you're not doing anything illegal or against your conscience," Gideon said.

"Besides, he has no room to talk since he uses Legilimency on people on a regular basis and that is definitely illegal," Fabian added.

"He probably justifies it to himself as being for the greater good," Gideon added.

"I have to agree. As much as I like this headmaster better than the one from my time he's still a meddling old coot," Hermione said.

"We've come to realize that over the last year or so," Fabian admitted. "You helped us see that he really might have our best interest at heart, but he goes about it in the wrong way."

"Definitely," Hermione agreed. "Why don't we go to bed. It's been a long day."

"Are you implying what I think you are?" Gideon asked.

"If you don't want to then I can go back to my own room," Hermione suggested in a calm tone. "I know that women who sleep with a man outside of marriage are looked down on in this time, but nobody has to know and I've already taken a potion so I won't get pregnant, as that's not something we need until after old Voldie is gone. Losing my virginity to the two of you considering I'm going to marry you anyway is really nothing."

Both twins grinned and said, "Sounds good," the twins echoed each other, making Hermione smile.

"We're not about to turn down an offer like that," Fabian added.

"But you're right Molly would go insane and hex us into oblivion, so we won't be telling anyone," Gideon added.

Both twins theatrically shuddered as they imagined their sister's reaction if she learned that they had taken Mia's virginity before they were married, causing Hermione to chuckle, mostly because she knew they were right.

~~~Gideon, Hermione, Fabian~~~


	7. Chapter 7

Part 7

"So how are things going with the twins, Mia?" James Potter asked Hermione.

Hermione was sitting on a couch in the living room of Potter Manor. It had been decided that hiding behind the ancient and powerful wards of the Potters ancestral home was the way to go, which Hermione couldn't disagree with considering what had happened at Godric's Hollow in her time.

Dumbledore had protested, but nobody had listened to an old coot that was at least partially responsible for their deaths in the time Hermione had come from. Hermione had also suggested taking certain precautions, like a Portkey, just in case and Lily had agreed. It would give them an escape route in case Voldemort managed to get past the wards of Potter Manor and also blocked the Floo.

"They're going just fine," Hermione said. "In fact, we got engaged just recently, but the wedding is on hold until Voldemort is gone."

"Wow! That's wonderful I'm so happy for you," James said enthusiastically. "I know Lily will be as well."

"Thank you," Hermione said blushing a little. She was just so happy with the twins, something she never imagined in her own time. Hermione had never really imagined marrying at all much less two different people.

"Sirius is going to be rather disappointed, you know," James admitted with a rather mischievous grin imagining his best friend's reaction when he learned. "He could see the twins were interested in you and not on just having you as a friend."

"That's too bad," Hermione said shaking her head, while smiling a little. "I could never marry Sirius. I'm just not interested in him in that way and I don't see him settling down anytime soon. I knew the older version you see, while I never really knew the Prewett twins for they were dead in my time. They were taken down by half a dozen Death Eaters."

"He'll be so disappointed," James said laughter in his voice.

"I can't help it if Padfoot is disappointed," Hermione shrugged. "He'll get over it. I consider him a friend just like I do you, but nothing more than that. He is one of the very few people that know about my involuntary trip to this time, so he should consider himself special."

"He'll like being considered special," James said grinning.

"Of course he will," Hermione laughed.

"I can't believe, even after all these months that Peter, someone we loved, were friends with, betrayed us," James said suddenly.

"I know how you feel," Hermione said. "Believe me, I do. Betrayals always run deep and yours runs deeper than most because you shared everything with your friends and were close for years. I'm not sure what started him down the path of taking the Dark Mark, but I know he didn't really return your friendship if he was willing to betray you and frame your best friend."

"I suppose we'll never really know," James sighed

"Probably not," Hermione said. "But just think, because of my trip back in time you and Lily will live or at least you won't die in the same way, being betrayed by someone you considered a friend. You'll be able to raise Harry and perhaps give him a few siblings sometime in the future. He will grow up to be a totally different kind of person then he was in my time. He was never truly happy, except for brief stretches of time."

"I can't believe Dumbledore did that to my son," James said in a voice full of betrayal. He had a hard time processing the fact that Dumbledore had betrayed his family in such a way.

"I truly believe that Dumbledore before his death had gone senile in my time," Hermione said. "This Dumbledore is so different from the one I knew that it's just unbelievable. Don't worry Harry will be here soon it's only another couple weeks before July 31st."

Hermione was amazed at how fast the time had flown ever since she had been thrown into this time. It had been early 1979 when she had arrived and now it was over a year later nearing the end of July 1980. Soon it would be time for her best friend to be born.

"Lily can't wait actually and not because she's tired of being pregnant, but because she can't wait for Harry to get here," James said with a massive grin on his face.

"I don't blame her, as I'm sure I'll feel the way about my own children someday," Hermione said.

"I can hardly wait either," James added. "Me James Potter, prankster extraordinaire, is going to be a father. It seems so unreal."

"I know, but that unreal feeling will fade after awhile and you'll realize that you really are a father," said Hermione.

Lily arrived just then and immediately greeted Hermione warmly. "Well, this is a pleasant surprise, Mia."

"I just thought I'd stop by and I didn't realize you weren't here until James told me," Hermione explained. "I wanted to see how you doing for one thing."

"What's the other reason?" Lily asked curiously.

"She got engaged that's the reason," James said in a teasing tone. "I never even knew she was dating."

"That is wonderful!" Lily exclaimed happily, nearly bouncing on the balls of feet despite at the moment her been absolutely enormous. "I see that Fabian and Gideon finally got off their butts and proposed."

"You knew they were dating?" James pouted playfully at his wife.

"Not for very long," Lily promised.

"No, she's only known for a few weeks. We had lunch together one day and it happened to come up," said Hermione. "We kept it quiet for a reason, James. Trust me, Voldemort would love to torture me before he killed me just to get revenge on Fabian and Gideon. He's not the forgiving sort and they did take down four of Voldie's top Death Eaters with only a little help from the Order of the Phoenix."

"I suppose," James admitted. "I hate not being able trust people."

"I know exactly how you feel," Hermione agreed with a resigned expression. "I've already told you the people you can trust so that probably helps some."

"It does," James agreed looking amazingly sober for him. "Now that Lily is here though, I believe that it's time to ask you something."

"Ask me what?" Hermione asked confused

"We want to make you the godmother to Harry," Lily explained.

"Why me? You hardly know me," Hermione asked in total disbelief.

"While that's true you helped save our lived and you know it," Lily told Hermione shaking her head. "Alright, we haven't known you as long as we've known Alice or Marlene, but still, it's because of you that we aren't going to die on Halloween, because we are forewarned."

"We also know you're an honest and amazing person even if you don't see yourself that way," James continued. "Most people would've been having fits or been nervous wrecks at being thrown into such a messed up situation, but you just calmly went about making changes."

"You have saved so many lives already, although most of them we will probably never find out about," Lily continued. "At a minimum you've saved me, James, Sirius, Frank, Alice, the Bones family and your fiancés Gideon and Fabian."

"You pointed out the traitor within our ranks and as much as it hurts me, Sirius and Remus you saved a lot of lives by doing so," James said.

"You've done so much for us, more than you realize," Lily said. "We already know you were close to our son in your own time, so we both think that naming you the godmother will allow you to at least see him regularly and watch him as he grows."

"And we certainly hope that it helps to replace the sibling bond you had with Harry in your own time," James added.

"Even if we die doing this at least we will die knowing that we were fighting for a just cause instead of being locked away under an obscure charm that can be easily broken with the betrayal of the Secret-Keeper," Lily said

"You made sure that we took proper legal action just in case something does happen to Lily and myself. You made sure that Dumbledore can't place our son with Lily's sister and her husband."

"You'll fight Dumbledore to the last breath if he tries to do what he did in your original time," James finished. "See you've done so much for us, both think that making you the godmother is the right thing to do.

"Alright fine," Hermione gave in. "I'll be happy to be the godmother. By the way, I don't believe that Dumbledore will take the same actions he did in my time because there should be no prophecy to deal with now since we've dealt with Voldemort's Horcruxes."

"Still, it was good to make sure a copy is filed with the ministry as well as at Gringotts just in case, something we obviously didn't do in the original timeline. We also made our lawyer aware of the situation and he won't let Dumbledore get away, with the same tactics if anything should happen to us," Lily said with James nodding agreement

"Neither of us want the future that you showed us to happen to our son or to ourselves for that matter," James added. "I for one respected Dumbledore a great deal, because I had been taught by my parents he was a great man, but it's clear to me he made a lot of mistakes at least when concerns my son. I suspect that my parents didn't really know the true Albus Dumbledore or they wouldn't have brought me up like they did."

"Considering he made so many major mistakes with Harry who's to say that he hasn't made other ones concerning other people we don't know about," Lily said.

"I have to agree that Dumbledore likely has made other mistakes," Hermione said, rather stunned at what the Potters thought of her, though she supposed she should have expected it because she'd had the knowledge to save their family from being broken up by Voldemort. "Nobodies perfect though, not even Dumbledore. On the other hand, it's how you handle your mistakes that matter and he didn't handle his mistakes very well, at least not in the time I come from. He didn't like to admit that he could be wrong."

"Which meant that his mistakes started to get bigger and bigger, because he didn't know learn from them because he refused to admit that he had made any," Lily realized that Hermione nodded.

"The Dumbledore of my time had a nasty habit of not listening to anyone's advice thinking he always knew best and while I won't deny that he is a knowledgeable wizard listening to other peoples opinions might point out things he hadn't thought about because after all the world has changed a great deal since he was born," Hermione explained. "He seems to believe that he's the cleverest most powerful wizard alive. Yes, he's a very smart and knowledgeable wizard I won't deny it, but he ignored the fact that Lily here is one of the smartest witches of her generation while I was the same in my own time. Plenty of other people are just as intelligent as the headmaster and yet Dumbledore, just ignores any information that doesn't fit his worldview. He also often goes out of his way to butt into other peoples lives and when he does he often fucks it up six ways to Sunday, mostly because he doesn't listen to anybody else's opinions, because he always believe he's doing a right thing. I don't think he truly trust anyone except himself, because his actions would've been different if he did. I think that's rather sad actually."

"No man is an island," Lily said in Hermione nodded.

"What does that mean?" James asked confused.

It's a poem by John Donne," Lily explained. "He was quite a famous Muggle and was born in 1521."

Both Hermione and Lily recited the poem together.

No man is an island entire of itself;

every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main;

if a clod be washed away by the sea,

Europe is the less, as well as if a promontory were,

as well as any manner of thy friends or of thine

own were; any man's death diminishes me,

because I am involved in mankind.

And therefore never send to know for whom

the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.

"It basically means that no person can make decisions for anyone but themselves. Almost any decision affects someone else, sometimes a lot of someone else's and if it's a bad decision then the person or persons who didn't get an opinion gets caught up in a possibly bad situation. A situation that was not of their own making, but because of somebody else's poor decision made on their behalf without consulting them or anyone else," Lily explained.

"Like Harry," James realize and both Lily and Hermione nodded in agreement.

"Even if Harry had been older when you died Dumbledore would likely still have made the same decision without consulting anyone else," Hermione said. "While this Dumbledore is much different than the one in my own time I will never be able to trust him completely, because he tends to make decisions for other people that he has no right to make and they let him get away with it because he is so revered and think he can do no wrong. He made a very poor war leader, because he didn't give people information that could've kept them alive and kept it to himself. He also didn't take anybody's advice and always did exactly what he wanted too. As you know many people died that might otherwise have lived if only Dumbledore had done what he should have. It's only because of my trip back to the late 70s that things are now different."

"You've certainly made me see a darker side to Dumbledore," James said.

"He's not really a bad person James, he's just so used to not taking anybody's advice and doing everything himself that he's gotten into the habit of making decisions that affect everyone. It has to do with the fact that a great many of the magical population are lazy and don't bother to think for themselves and in fact, they've basically forgotten how to, as it's a learned skill with a few exceptions," Hermione explained. "Dumbledore hasn't been out into the Muggle world in a long time, decades at least, so he has no idea how much Muggle society has changed compared to the wizarding one. The wizarding one has practically stagnated because those in power don't want change while the Muggle one has advanced considerably. When I arrived from the future Dumbledore knew that he had made some major mistakes along the way, even if I didn't come back voluntarily. There're forces out there that only a few people seem to know exists and it's often been speculated that magic is almost sentient. In other words, it's nearly alive. I'm not sure if I believe that or not, but I don't see any other way I could have been thrown so far back in the past, as I doubt very much that's what the Death Eater that was chasing meant to do with his spell. No, I think he intended to kill me, or at least severely injure me. I've learned that magic is often about the intent of the caster and if the caster's will is strong enough magic often responds without a specific spell being cast."

"So you believe, if you were for instance thinking subconsciously about how to correct the situation that your magic responded."

"I also believe that the magic out there in the universe probably also helped throw me back in time. I think that there is true intelligence behind magic, even though most people don't know that anymore. They supposedly did a great many spells back in the founders time for instance that we don't use anymore because we don't fully understand what magic is about and that is a force that if not fully alive, is at least nearly so. Just think about Hogwarts and how magical it is. The castle is nearly sentient, so that means that magic itself must also be alive in a sense, because it is that magic that made Hogwarts what it is today. Children cast spells and it always takes a while to learn how to do those spells without putting more power behind them then they should and that excess magic has to go somewhere."

"It goes into the castle itself," Lily said coming to the same conclusion that Hermione had some time ago.

"And think, it's been over 1000 years since Hogwarts was first built which means that she is imbued with thousands of children's excess magic," Hermione said.

"So you believe that over time the castle gained a conscience of it's own," James said trying his best to follow along with the conversation, even though a lot of it was way over his head.

"Yes, I believe that it tries it's best to help the headmaster or mistress, but they also have to listen to it. Dumbledore's not good at listening to anyone's advice, except his own, so I doubt very much he pays attention when Hogwarts tells him of a problem. The castle was built to protect the students and imbued with magic long before it was a school. The students miscast magic simply added to what the founders had already put into her very structure, just by building her," Hermione explained.

"The headmaster or mistresses are immediately connected to the castle once they are elected, so that they know about problems so they can fix it before it gets too out of hand," Lily explained to her husband. "It's kind of a symbiotic relationship. Both the castle and the current head of the school bring something to the relationship."

"Dumbledore ignored numerous problems in my time just because they didn't fit into his plans and schemes, because he's more of a big picture person. He doesn't pay attention to all the little details. He ignored the fact that a student in my time was being severely bullied just because she was different. Dumbledore's charisma and reputation were so strong that the other professors followed along with his policy, which was basically, to ignore such a situation unless it was extremely blatant. This student was bullied so severely that she nearly took her own life and yet Dumbledore did nothing, because most were simply beneath his notice, unless they were the Boy Who Lived. I don't think he really understands what such severe bullying can lead to. It all depends on the person and what kind of emotional support they have but this student had absolutely none until Harry met her in her fourth year and his fifth."

James winced at that explanation as he remembered his severe bullying of one Severus Snape. Snape's situation had been very similar to the female student's that Hermione had just mentioned and he and Sirius had indeed bullied him until Snape had taken the Dark Mark with the hope of gaining power to get revenge on those that had bullied him nearly every day of the seven years they had attended school. Lily had seriously taken him to task when she had learned that her once friend had joined Voldemort and James couldn't blame her. He and Sirius had been bullies, there had been no reason to treat Snape like they had, but they had been so arrogant and so sure that he would end up becoming a Death Eater that they had taken it to far on a lot of occasions. It was quite possible, even likely, that Snape wouldn't have become a Death Eater if he and Sirius hadn't been so hard on him and pulled nasty and embarrassing pranks on him nearly constantly.

He had been jealous, James admitted to himself, jealous of his friendship with the girl he wanted. If only he had been a little nicer and hadn't had such a big head and arrogant attitude he probably would've gotten to date Lily sooner. It was only after he had deflated his head a bit and Lily had noticed that he had changed that she agreed to go out on a date with him.

"I know thinking of Hogwarts as alive or at least partially alive is a hard concept to understand. She doesn't have hands, but she does try to help keep the students safe by reporting problems to the headmaster or mistress."

"Let's talk about something else you're making my head hurt," James finally complained.

"Alright, fine," Lily laughed, as she kissed his cheek. "This little one is kicking me in the bladder so if you'll excuse me."

"Of course, go ahead," Hermione said smiling. "I've never had any children of my own, but I know very well that you have to pee more in the third trimester then in the first trimester.

"It won't be long now," Lily smiled as she disappeared to go use the bathroom

Hermione took her leave just a few minutes later once Lily came back from the bathroom.

~~~Gideon, Hermione, Fabian~~~

Hermione stayed up on the night she knew her best friend would be born. She had made James swear that he would let her know as soon as the event occurred, or she would hex him into oblivion. James had known that she would do it to, so he had sworn he would contact her as soon as Lily had given birth, so just before 11:30, at precisely 11:17 she received a Patronus.

"My son has been born, but Lily's exhausted and already asleep. Come and visit and meet your godson doing visiting hours tomorrow. Good night."

Hermione who had already gotten dressed for bed and done her ablutions went right to sleep with a smile on face.

In the morning she couldn't help whistling cheerfully, as she fixed breakfast and the twins knew that her best friend had been born last night, as they were well aware of the date of his birth.

"So your best friend has finally been born," Gideon suggested and Hermione nodded unable to remove the smile from her face.

"Yes, and I will make sure he has a happy childhood this time, by making sure that his parents live to raise him," Hermione said and the twins nodded knowing that this had been Mia's goal all along. "If James and Lily do happen to be killed Dumbledore's well aware that I'll fight to the last breath to make sure he doesn't get control of my godson and Sirius will be with me in this since he was named the Godfather."

"You don't really think that will happen, do you?" asked Fabian.

"Likely not, but I still let him know I was prepared to fight for custody of him if I had to," said Hermione. "I thought a warning that I was watching him might be a good idea. He knows that he won't be able to get away with anything right under my nose. He knows I have information about the future that could likely ruin him if he pushes things. I hate having to threaten anyone like this, as it's so dirty and dishonest, but Dumbledore's so used to getting his own way that this was the only way to get him to listen. He has no idea what I know, as he can't get into my mind to find out, but he can tell I'm being serious and that I have information that could damage his reputation. I think if he knows someone's keeping an eye on him it will keep him on the straight and narrow. Part of Dumbledore's problem is he has no one to tell him he's being an arrogant idiot and slap him upside the head when he tries to do things by himself without asking anyone for advice. The population in England was absolutely in awe of his power when he took out Grindelwald, which is what started building his reputation. Everybody on the face of the earth no matter how old and wise needs somebody that they trust and respect and will listen to if necessary, especially someone with his power. Power corrupts and absolute power collapse absolutely," Hermione quoted.

"So if I understand what you're saying you think the reason Dumbledore is like he is because he doesn't have anybody he trusts or respects enough to ask for advice and in fact it probably goes against his grain to ask anybody for their opinion, just because he believes he's the cleverest, smartest wizard alive," Gideon summarized.

"More or less," Hermione agreed. "I won't deny he's brilliant, just that everybody seems to want his advice, which has led him to believe he can never be wrong. Really, it's the people that have helped create the man that Dumbledore is. Having so much power and having powerful people come to you to ask your opinion can go to anyone's head. I have to admit that this version of Dumbledore isn't half as bad as the one in my own time and I hope seriously that he will stay that way, now that he knows someone is watching him. Anyway, Dumbledore won't matter after Voldemort is gone, as he'll just be an old man who will realize that his time in power is coming to an end. I think the less I think about that meddling old man the better."

Gideon carefully changed the subject to something else and all three of them enjoyed a quiet breakfast together, before the twins headed into work at the ministry.

~~~Gideon, Hermione, Fabian~~~

A few months later, Hermione received a letter from Molly saying that they were accepting both offers.

Hermione immediately got started on the potion for Molly, which luckily didn't require any expensive or hard-to-find ingredients. Hermione had already bought the ingredients and put them under a preservation charm, just in case Molly accepted her offer. It was pretty close to the time that Hermione was positive that Ginny had been conceived. It was only a week or so until the beginning of September, but luckily, the potion wasn't too complicated Hermione decided once she rechecked the directions in her copy of the Potioneer. It certainly wasn't as complicated as Wolfsbane, which she was already making for Remus, even though it wasn't invented yet and wouldn't be for a few years.

It was done within hours and Hermione quickly bottled it in an unbreakable vial putting it in a safe place until she could deliver them to the Burrow. Luckily, the potion was good for several months before it was unusable. Hermione didn't want Molly to take it until she was sure she was pregnant with Ginny, as she wanted a former girlfriend to be born. She would tell Molly as much and make sure she followed directions precisely.

Once the twins got home from work Hermione spent most of her time with her fiancés, as between making plans for the defeat of Voldemort and spending time with the other people she had become close to in this time she, Fabian and Gideon really didn't spend that much time together. However, that was the way that life was, people spending time with their spouses as well as their friends. Still, Hermione tried to spend at least most evenings with her soon to be husbands.

"So what did you do today while we were working?" Fabian asked.

"Your sister contacted me and agreed to both offers, so I brewed that potion I mentioned while you were working so it is already bottled and ready to go. Luckily, it's good for several months, as I don't want Molly to start taking it until she's sure that she's pregnant with her daughter. I want her to be born, even though we won't really be friends in this time, though I suppose I'll will be her aunt. She was my best girlfriend in my own time as most of the girls in my year were rather immature and silly. Parvati and Lavender were the gossip queens, and I was never into that kind of thing. All they seemed to care about was boys, their hair and makeup and other frivolous subjects. If they heard something important they had it all over the castle in no time, as they couldn't keep a secret to save their lives."

"Fabian and I knew somebody like that to, though they weren't in the same year luckily," Gideon winced.

"Well, I already knew that Parvati and Lavender weren't two of a kind. I knew several people like them when I was in Muggle primary school," Hermione said.

"So we happened to run into Arthur and we are all invited to dinner at the Burrow tomorrow night.

"Sounds good," Hermione said agreeable looking forward to another of Molly's meals. "Did he happen to say anything to you about the offer I made Molly?"

"No, he didn't, he wouldn't have, because the ministry is not the place to talk about that kind of thing where somebody can overhear. All of us don't want anybody to know about what we're up to, especially not somebody that could cause trouble. Arthur knows what the ministry is like so he would know better than to talk about anything private within its walls," Fabian said.

"Which is likely why we were invited to dinner tomorrow," Gideon added.

"That's true," Hermione acknowledged. "The ministry can't keep a secret to save it's life or at least they couldn't in my time. So I can give Molly my potion tomorrow, though I'll have to make sure we are alone before I do. We don't need any of the kids to come in at the wrong moment as they wouldn't be able to keep their mouths shut, as children tend to not have filters. They are too young to know to keep anything private, well, except perhaps for Bill, since he's the oldest so should be able to keep a secret."

"Still, it's better if no one knows except us and Molly," Gideon said.

"Yes, it is because I don't want word to get around that Molly had help in having more than one. I want everybody to assume that she was just lucky and that it's a natural event," Hermione agreed. "Triplets do exist in the wizarding world, though mostly not in Britain because of the inbreeding."

"I think it's time we retired too bed," Fabian suggested with a leer, looking his fiancée up and down his intentions clear.

Hermione blushed, but didn't protest, when Fabian picked her up easily and headed to the bedroom.

~~~Gideon, Hermione, Fabian~~~

"Welcome," Arthur greeted the twins and Hermione as soon as they entered the back door. "Dinner is almost ready so you're just in time."

"Good, because we are starving," Gideon and Fabian said together.

"You're always starving," Hermione laughed.

"Seems to be a family trait," Arthur said cheerfully.

Conversation was sparse once everyone had greeted each other. Hermione in particular paid attention to the kids and made sure that she spent at least a few minutes with each one. The children soaked up the attention like it was the finest of wines, just as Hermione knew they would. Children needed plenty of attention when they were young, needed to know they were loved.

"Welcome," Molly greeted them with a smile once they had all entered the kitchen.

"It smells absolutely wonderful, Molly," Fabian complimented his sister.

It was true there were wonderful smells circulating around the kitchen.

"Oh, you flatterer, you," Molly blushed at the compliment.

"I happen to think that Fabian is right, you're a wonderful cook," Hermione said kissing Molly's cheek. "I always looked forward to one of your meals in my own timeline."

Molly blushed again, but went back cooking. She loved being complimented for her cooking skills.

"Why don't you go get the boys Arthur, I'll have dinner on the table in just a minute," Molly told her husband who obeyed.

Soon everybody was gathered around the kitchen table that was quite large. The older kids picked what they wanted to eat but Ron was still a bit too young to do that so Molly fed him from her own plate and once he was satisfied fixed her own portion after putting him in playpen in a corner of the living room.

The kids were loud and rambunctious doing the meal, simply chattering away to everyone, but Arthur and Molly didn't mind. They never had, Hermione thought fondly. They certainly weren't of the mindset that children should be seen and not heard like so many families. Of course, most families only had one child or at most two.

Finally dinner was over and Molly left the dishes in the sink to wash themselves, as she shooed all the older children upstairs and took Ron herself since he was still so young and she didn't want him falling down the stairs. Hermione and Arthur went into the living room while Molly was busy putting the children to bed. As for Fabian and Gideon they headed home knowing that Mia would tell them all the important bits of the discussion after she got home.

A few minutes later Molly returned and once she was present Hermione cast a spell on the living room that had been invented by Snape while he had been in school.

"It will muffle our conversation so that nobody can understand what we are saying," Hermione explained grinning at their looks of astonishment. "It was invented by a student at Hogwarts that just graduated fairly recently. Harry discovered his old potions book and found several spells written in the margins, ones he had created. It has come in useful on occasion."

Hermione didn't mention the identity of the person that had created the spell.

"We don't want any of the kids to overhear, and children tend to be curious."

"So to began Molly told me about your offer," Arthur said. "It took both of us discussing it over the last few months to finally decide to accept. It has nothing to do with the fact we don't trust you, just that usually I would never accept such an offer. However, since it's just a loan and I do intend on paying you back that I finally decided that that was okay."

"That's just fine," Hermione promise warmly. "This will make sure that you don't have to struggle to send the kids to Hogwarts when the time comes. You'll be financially comfortable but you won't be wealthy like the Malfoy's."

"Which is another reason that we finally decided to accept your offer," Arthur said.

"I kind of figured that, since I knew you quite well in my own time. I would've just given you the money, but I knew you would never take it, so loaning you some so that you could invest seemed like the thing to do. I don't want you to struggle to pay Hogwarts fees or for books and other equipment. I know how expensive a boarding school can be, and not everybody is as financially secure as my parents were. My parents were dentist a type of Muggle Healer and they would've been considered upper middle class. They had no trouble paying for books and equipment or paying school fees, especially since I was an only child. The only trouble they had was letting their little girl go so far away from home. I mean they couldn't even call me or me call them."

"That's something I can understand," Molly said nodding. "I know it's tradition and everything that non-magical parents are supposed to put their children on the train and then basically forget about them. If that was us Arthur would you be able to forget about your children once they started Hogwarts?"

"Of course not," Arthur protested understanding the point.

"Even if my parents had had more than me they wouldn't have had any trouble paying the fees," Hermione said. "Of course, most Muggle families don't have more than two or three children, but that's a matter of preference. In my parents case my mother had so much trouble giving birth to me that she was warned that if she tried to have another it could likely kill her. My parents wanted at least one more but they made the wise decision and decided to not attempt to have them. It might have turned out okay or it could've ended in tragedy. They decided just to be happy with the daughter they had."

"That is so tragic," Molly said with real feeling. "To be denied something you want so much, just because your own body betrays you."

"It was the right decision, but that didn't mean it didn't hurt a great deal," Hermione said.

"Yes, in that respect we've been very lucky," Arthur said, even as he put an arm around Molly's shoulder.

"Yes, some women just aren't suitable to have more than one child and my mother just happened to be one of them. It is tragic when it happens, but unfortunately, there is no way to change it," Hermione shrugged as she had accepted that she would be an only child years ago. "I'm very glad you decided to accept my offer, Arthur. Believe me, I understand that you love working in Misuse of Muggle Artifacts and if you had only had two or three children then you'd be able to afford to raise them without having to worry so much about money."

"Yeah, I suppose we did go overboard in having children," Arthur admitted with a little smile. "But we just want a little girl to love so much, and unfortunately, my family tree is full of boys with very few girls."

Hermione said nothing, but she and Molly exchanged significant looks when Arthur wasn't looking.

"Why, I believe that there hasn't been any Weasley girls born for at least five generations if I'm remembering right," Arthur said.

"Don't worry so much," said Hermione smiling.

Arthur perked up at that and it was clear that he was cheered by the news. Mia hadn't come right out and said that he and Molly would get the girl they really wanted, but she had certainly implied it and if anybody would know what the future would bring she would.

Hermione handed Arthur a sack of Galleons and told him what company to invest in.

"I think it's better if you do it, as I don't want to mess it up," Arthur said. "I admit I don't really know much about the Muggle world, despite my fascination with it."

"I could teach if you like," Hermione offered.

"Don't encourage him," Molly told her guest in protest.

"I'm afraid it's a lost cause to stop him from being fascinated by people like my parents that don't have magic," Hermione told Molly smiling and shaking her head.

Molly had never approved of her husband's obsession with all things Muggle, but personally Hermione thought it was wise to learn as much as you could about the culture you shared a living space with. She knew that plenty of magicals disagreed with that sentiment, not that it mattered to her.

"Oh, well, I've already put up with it for years already," Molly shrugged physiologically.

Hermione took back the sack of Galleons and promised that she would take care of it in the morning. "You need to sign legal authority over to me, even if it's just this one thing," Hermione told Arthur who nodded.

"You know the goblins like everything nice and legal. There's no point of making them suspicious," Hermione said. "They have ways to verify whether or not you wrote it."

"I'll do that before you leave," Arthur agreed. "Thank you for doing this for us."

"You're quite welcome," Hermione said warmly smiling. "I was rather fond of all of the Weasleys in my own time, though I admit I didn't get to see much of Bill and Charlie as they were already in careers of their own before I started school. I only met Bill a couple of times, once doing my fourth year and then later and I only met Charlie once also doing fourth or I should say that it was the summer before my fourth year."

"They both came home?" Molly asked her face lighting up.

"There was a professional Quidditch match being played in England for the first time in years. Arthur managed to get very good tickets and took Harry and me along. I admit that I was never really a fan of Quidditch, though Harry was and will be again. There's no way that James is going to allow his son to not like Quidditch."

"James always was a Quidditch fanatic," Molly smiled.

"So is 90% of the wizarding world," Hermione muttered. "Personally, I have never understood magicals obsession with the game."

Molly nodded in agreement, because she knew that Bill and Charlie were Quidditch mad and so was her husband. She had a feeling that most of her family was going to end up being crazy about it. Oh, well, there was really nothing she could do and at least it was a relatively harmless past time and it was more than socially acceptable to love the game.

"I'll show you out," Molly said a few minutes later.

"Yeah, I had better get home," Hermione agreed.

"Why didn't Fabian and Gideon stay for the conversation?" Arthur asked curiously.

"Because they know I'll tell them anything important and because they were afraid we would talk about stuff that they don't need to know about their sister or any female," Hermione shrugged. "There're lots of little facts the siblings don't need to know about each other unless of course, they are the same-sex. They thought maybe we would be talking about personal female problems and they didn't want to know about that kind of thing."

Arthur nodded satisfied at that as there were lots of things he didn't need to know about his wife that were female problems. There were just some things that wizards didn't need to know about their witch, not even considering that Muggle men felt the same way about their women.

Molly and Hermione headed for the back door after Arthur had headed upstairs not saying a word, but before she left she handed Molly a vial.

"One sip right after dinner at bedtime. You need to give it at least half an hour to make sure it's into your system. Don't start taking it until you're sure your pregnant with your daughter, which should be any time now if my calculations are right. It should happen sometime in the next week or so. You should be able to tell when you're only a couple of days pregnant."

"Yes, I know the spell," Molly confirmed

"Good," Hermione nodded satisfied. "This should guarantee you have at least twins and I won't be surprised if you have triplets, though I can't guarantee the sexes except for the first one. Still, we'll know in a couple of months at most."

"Thank you for this," Molly said.

"You're quite welcome," Hermione smiled kissing Molly's cheek. "Remember, no telling anyone about this and if you happen to run into Dumbledore don't look into his eyes, he likes to do passive Legilimency on people. What I'm doing is not illegal, but Dumbledore was a busybody in my time and always has been and I'm sure he'd disapproved of using a potion from the future to help you have more children. Dumbledore likes to believe he's the moral compass for everybody when he has his own faults, a multitude of them. He seems to believe that he has a right to lecture anybody that does something he disapproves of when he really doesn't. Moral and ethics were way different back in the time he was born then they are here in the 1980s, though I know the wizarding world hasn't changed much in the same amount of time that the Muggle one has. Using it to help out somebody I know wants more girl children if possible is not wrong in my book. It's not like I'm going to sell the potion as my own creation."

"No you're too honest to do that," Molly agreed.

"Besides, I don't need the money thanks to the sale of that basilisk. I'll have more than I'll ever need actually," Hermione said. "I think having too much wealth just corrupts people, a lot of them anyway. A lot of people with too much money begin to believe they can do anything they want no matter how illegal and get away with it. This doesn't always happen, but it happens far too often in my opinion. Now, I'll say good night and I'll see you in a few days," Hermione promised.

"You sure this potion won't harm the baby that I'll be pregnant with, right?"

"No, it won't," Hermione said and Molly nodded.

"Alright," Molly said, putting the vial into the pocket of her robe.

"Make sure you let me know as soon as you know how many you are going to have, as I want to know," Hermione said. "The odds are good that you'll have triplets, but we'll just have to see."

"If I have three daughters that would be just perfect," Molly said beaming at the thought. "Yes, I know there are no guarantees as you warned me before, but I'm hoping if I do have triplets that all of them will be girls."

"I can't really blame you for that," Hermione said understandingly. "With the companies I'm going to invest in for you and Arthur you'll have plenty of money to look after them, as well as your other children."

"Which is why I agreed to have you brew this potion," Molly said. "I would never imagine having more than one if we didn't have the extra money that investing in those Muggle businesses will bring in, as we struggle now to pay for things with six children."

"Which is why I suggested them in the first place," Hermione smirked. "I knew how much you struggled to pay for things with seven children, which is why I made the offer."

Molly finally escorted her guest out the back door and watched Hermione popped away to return to her brothers. She was so happy that Mia was going to join the family and she was already planning the wedding in her head. She was also very happy that her brothers were finally settling down, even if that was with the same woman, as usually at least 90% of wizarding folks were married by 18 or 19 and had at least two children by the time they were her brothers age. Hopefully, there'd be many children in the future, even if Mia had said she wasn't going to have as many as she had. Still, so long as she got at least two out of each of her brothers she'd be happy. Hopefully, Mia wouldn't be like her mother before her and only able to have one child, but then magical medicine was way different from Muggle medicine so hopefully, if there were any problems they'd be easily fixable. Still, that was for the future.

~~~Gideon, Hermione, Fabian~~~


	8. Chapter 8

Part 8

Two months later

Hermione was moving around the apartment cleaning up after her fiancés. She couldn't help but imagine when she, Fabian and Gideon would be married and have a few children of their own. She definitely didn't want as many as Molly was likely going to have. She hadn't told Molly that it was possible she'd have quads instead of just twins of triplets, just because she was already so fertile. That she'd already had twins once, just increased her chances of having other multiples. She hadn't informed Molly or Fabian and Gideon of this as she didn't want to frighten any of them. Quadruplets were almost unknown in Wizarding Britain and in fact there had only been like one set in the last 500 years. This had mostly to do with inbreeding, but quads were fairly rare in the Muggle world as well so that also had something to do with it. Molly certainly had the body for it even if she wasn't that tall, which helped. The more body mass you had the more likely you were going to have more than one. Hermione was whistling softly until she heard a tap on the window.

She opened the window when she saw the familiar sight of the Weasleys owl Errol and removed his burden and fed him an owl treat, which he snapped out of her fingers quickly.

She opened the letter which she knew was from Molly, as she recognized the handwriting and she suspected that she knew what the Weasley Matriarch was going to say. It was around a month and a half since Molly got pregnant and she would've been to the Healer by now to find out how many she was carrying. While you could tell you were pregnant within a couple of days you really couldn't tell anything else, not until a few weeks later.

Dear Mia,

I am so grateful to you. Thanks to you I am carrying triplets. It is too early to tell the sexes yet although at least one of them should be a girl, but as you know I'm hoping that all of them are. I'm so excited and Arthur is over the moon when he learned that I was carrying three instead of the one he expected. He doesn't suspect a thing by the way, as he has no idea that such a potion exist and of course it doesn't, not yet at least. But still, even if it did exist right now he still wouldn't suspect anything because potions was never his best subject so he doesn't bother to keep up with advances. He just assumes that I'm more suspectable to having more than one, simply because I've already had a set of twins. I'm letting him believe that, because it's actually partly true, even if it's not the whole equation in this case.

I'm just bursting with excitement and preparing for the birth of my triplets which won't be for quite awhile I know. The Healer of course has warned me not to overdo as I could go into labor to early, which is more than possible since I'm carrying more than a single child.

I can hardly wait until Voldemort is gone so that you and my brothers can get married and start having children of your own, though I do understand your reasoning and why you don't want to do so before that monster is finally regulated to the pages of history.

I'll let you know as soon as I know the sexes."

Affectionately,

Molly

Well, it looked like her idea had worked, Hermione thought smiling brightly. She was certainly very happy for her surrogate mother. The two of them were even closer in this time and they had been in her own and that was likely because she was a grown up now, when the last time she had still been a teenager when she had known her. Mostly grown up, but not quite there. They were also closer in age in this time, then they had been in her own, which probably also had something to do with it.

Hermione was really hoping that it was indeed all girls, but there was no way to know at this early stage, so she would just have to be patient.

Hermione continued to clean the apartment until it was sparkling and then she simply sat on the couch and picked a book out of her beaded bag in order to read. She couldn't help but think of the time when she and the twins would be legally married and could start having children. Molly and Arthur would soon have nine children, but since she had already done exactly what she had told the senior Weasleys she would it wouldn't matter because there would be plenty of gold to make sure they grew up not poor. She had gone to Gringotts the very next day with the authorization from Arthur in her pocket.

The goblins had verified it was real and then did exactly what she asked and invested in the Muggle businesses she'd told them to. They had no idea that she was from the future but they probably suspected, as most goblins tended to be extremely perceptive, Hermione admitted. Still, even if they did they wouldn't say anything or inform the ministry so long as she didn't do any of them any harm. Goblins tended not to get involved in the affairs of magicals, not unless the circumstances were unusual to say the least. The companies that the goblins had invested in were already showing healthy returns, just as she knew they would.

She had also convinced Remus to do the same, and since he knew she was from the future he took her advice to heart. He trusted that she wouldn't steer him wrong and she never would so he would be seeing profits as well. Hermione was actually hoping that because of what she had done Remus wouldn't be so leery about getting involved with Nymphadora Tonks in the future. One of Remus main hangups was the fact that he was poor. She had suggested this to him soon after she had arrived, so Remus could no longer use that as a reason to not get involved with her. Of course, there was always his old standby and that was the fact that he was a monster when he really wasn't except one night a month and even that didn't really apply anymore thanks to her brewing the Wolfsbane Potion for him every month. She would continue to do so for the rest of his life and she already knew that he was very grateful. He had offered to pay her for the ingredients at least, now that he had money, but she had turned him down and nothing he could say could change her mind so he had given in, realizing that Hermione was much more stubborn than he was.

Considering that James and Lily were still alive and Sirius hadn't been thrown in prison that would probably boost Remus's confidence considerably, so when the time came he wouldn't have the same problems like he had in her timeline. Hermione knew that his friends would encourage him to ask her out and not let being a werewolf affect him.

Still, Voldemort was still out there, but he would soon be dead if she had her way. Plans were already in place, but they were just waiting for the perfect opportunity to spring their trap. Unfortunately, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named might be a Dark Wizard, but he was also extremely intelligent. It was unfortunate that the bad guys were rarely stupid, as it would have made things much easier, Hermione mourned.

Hermione was so glad that her plan had worked and her mother in every way, except biologically was going to have triplets. There were no guarantees of course, that any of them except one was going to be a girl, but she was crossing her fingers there. She prayed that all of them would turn out to be female because she knew that's what Molly wanted more than anything. She hadn't lied or anything when she had told her that girls were the most common type of multiples, whether twins or triplets or any other kind.

Hermione kept herself busy until the twins came home and then they decided to go out for dinner to celebrate finding out that Molly was carrying triplets.

"You did it, Mia," Fabian congratulated her with a long hug and kiss Gideon following suit.

"There's no guarantees," Hermione tried to tell her fiancés.

"We know and so does Molly," Gideon said shutting her up with a brief kiss.

"You did the right thing and warned our sister that there was a possibility they would not turn out to all be girls other than one of them obviously. Still, you gave Molly a chance to have more than one girl and even if two of them turn out to be boys, I know that she'll still appreciate and love you for the opportunity you gave her."

"You didn't lie to her or fudge the odds of her having girls like she and Arthur want. You let her make the decision whether or not to accept you're offer and really that's all you can do," Fabian said.

"You're right," Hermione admitted. "I tend to blame myself when things don't go exactly like I believe they should."

"You need to break that habit," Gideon suggested gently.

"I don't know that I can, as it goes all the way back to childhood," Hermione admitted. "I never liked to admit that things can go wrong, especially when I am involved, as I'm very methodical and I try to plan things to the last degree."

"But there is also a certain amount of luck and chance in all plans and you can't calculate how they will affect them, which is why they don't always go like you want," Fabian said.

"You also can't take control peoples free will and they often do what you wouldn't expect, which also can wreck any plans you make," Gideon said.

"I know, that's something I realized a long time ago," Hermione conceded. "People often do things that mess up the best laid plans."

"Nobody is going to be mad at you if at least one of them turns out to be a boy you know," Fabian added, finally realizing that was probably what Hermione was worrying about and that was other peoples opinions, people she cared about.

"Is that what is worrying you?" Gideon asked. "You think Molly will be upset with you if all of them don't turn out to be girls. If that is what you are worrying about that is just silly and ridiculous, Mia."

Hermione said nothing, but blushed and the twins knew they had been right.

"When are you going to realize Mia that you are not Merlin? Not even the supposed greatest wizard to ever live could control everything to the last degree," Fabian said shaking his head and Hermione. "If even Merlin can't control everything that could possibly happen what makes you think you can? After all, the more complicated the plan the more likely something is going to go wrong."

"Or right depending on a lot of variables that you have no control over," Gideon added. "Nobody thinks that you are omniscient or that you are perfect. Don't pull a Dumbledore on us. You are not perfect or infallible."

That really caused Hermione to blush as she knew that twins were right.

"Stop worrying nobody's going to be mad at you no matter what Molly gets, not even Molly herself. Molly knew what the odds were when you gave her that potion and that you could make no guarantees that they'd all be female. You silly, silly witch do you really think our sister is so shallow that she's going to hate you over something you can't control?" Fabian asked Hermione.

"No," Hermione admitted into small voice. "I've been worrying myself for nothing, haven't I?"

"Yes you have," Fabian said.

"But now that you know you were being extremely illogical you can stop worrying and just enjoy yourself until the triplets are here," Gideon said.

"I'll probably be helping out with them quite a bit, because one baby is a lot of work much less three," said Hermione finally relaxing.

"Yes, they are and perhaps, you should see if you could get them a house-elf to help out," Fabian suggested smiling.

"They're plenty of house-elves that have been released from their families for one reason or another, usually for pretty stupid reasons," Gideon said.

"I'll suggest it to Molly and Arthur the next time I see them or maybe you had better since you are Molly's brothers after all. I think it's a better idea that we get a house-elf and share them between our family and the Weasleys, because I know there's not enough work for even one house-elf in the average magical home. However, if we share a house-elf there will still be plenty of work for him or her."

"I'm not sure it's possible to bind a house-elf to two different families, even if they're related," Fabian said after moment.

"We can always find out before we dismiss the idea entirely," Hermione suggested. "It might not be possible, but you never know unless you ask a house-elf yourself. It might be that if we bind one to your sister and her husband, either she or Arthur can order them to obey us as well, to answer our call.

"Yes, that's a good idea," Gideon said after looking at his brother.

"It doesn't hurt to check with someone who would know the answer," Fabian agreed.

"See that's what I thought," Hermione said just a little smugly.

"Well, before Mia gets too full of herself that she blows up like a balloon and floats towards the ceiling, I think it's time to go and celebrate," Gideon chuckled.

Hermione looked abashed for a few seconds then realized she was being teased and simply smiled saying nothing in reply.

~~~Gideon, Hermione, Fabian~~~

1 year later

Hermione hummed quietly as she moved around the house that she and her husbands had bought. Voldemort was finally gone and while it has been a long, hard fought battle finally the evil wizard was permanently defeated. Thanks to Hermione taking care of the Horcruxes before Harry had even been born that meant that the prophecy had never come to pass. Nobody else would've been able to take out Voldemort otherwise.

Hermione had cried tears of joy when she realized that Tom Riddle AKA Voldemort was history. He had been hit with multiple curses by various people, curses that were meant to damage somebody at the very least. She wasn't sure who had actually taken him out permanently and she was glad. It could've been her or it could have been Dumbledore or Kingsley Shacklebolt or even Alastor Moody. It could've been just about anybody really. The trap that she and certain key members of the Order of the Phoenix had planned had worked to perfection. Voldemort had believed that he was so powerful that no one could possibly ever take him out and even if they did he would come back because of his Horcruxes.

Hermione had already known from personal experience that Voldemort would not feel the destruction of his Horcruxes. He would feel weak of course, which could have a lot of causes, but other than that there would be no indication that his Horcruxes had been destroyed. Of course, Tom Riddle had once been an intelligent young man, but the rituals he had done to his body had seemed to leech out that intelligence. With every Horcrux he made more of his intelligence and reasoning abilities went with them. He slowly became a arrogant, conceited, psychopathic, deranged killer that had lost the lot of his intelligence and reasoning abilities due to his making Horcruxes. In other words, he was totally insane by the time he made Horcrux number five, as of that point he barely had any soul left. Hermione doubted that Tom had known what would happen if he made so many Horcruxes therefore, splitting his soul five different times. She doubted that any of the Dark Arts books he had read on the subject had mentioned what it would do to his intelligence, his logic and his reason. From what Hermione knew Tom Riddle used to be one of the most intelligent young wizard's of his time, but when he had made his first Horcrux it had started to affect that intelligence. The diary, which was the first had not been found, but not where Hermione had expected it to be. The diary contained one full half of Tom Riddle's soul and was therefore, the biggest piece.

Hermione and Dumbledore had approached the goblins and told them that they knew of a dark item that was against their banking code and when they had been told what that item was the teller had taken it higher immediately.

This had gotten a chief of the goblins involved and he had agreed to check it out, as goblins hated anybody who split their soul and put it in an object. The goblins considered such objects abominations and they were immediately destroyed if discovered on goblin land. If one was found, no matter who's vault it was, they would be fined rather heavily and if the owner was in Azkaban then they would be fined if they were ever released. However, if they were lying then they would be in serious trouble with Gringotts.

Much to Hermione surprise the diary had been in the Malfoy vault instead of Malfoy Manor. The goblins had checked all the known Death Eaters vaults just to make sure that no Horcruxes remained within the boundaries of the bank, mostly because they had found one in the Lestrange vault, just like Hermione had known they would. Hermione had been rather shocked that there was one in the Malfoy vault instead of it being in his home, but she knew it was possible that Lucius Malfoy had moved it from his vault to his home sometime in the next five to ten years. Or maybe he had gotten it from his vault instead of bringing it from home when he had planted it on Ginny Weasley like she had originally assumed. It was also possible that this timeline was just a little different from her own or her and Harry's assumptions had been wrong about Malfoy bringing the diary from his manor.

They had both figured that the Senior Malfoy would want to keep it close, since it had belonged to his master, but they could've been wrong about that Hermione knew. She was just very glad that it had been found so easily and destroyed soon after by the goblins, along with the Hufflepuff Cup. She hadn't been sure how to get her hands on that one actually, except to wait until the senior Malfoy passed it off to Ginny Weasley when she started Hogwarts in 91. Maybe fate for once was giving her a break. Both she and Dumbledore had been relieved that it had been so easily found and she couldn't help but smirk a little as she knew the Malfoy's had been heavily fined by having such a dark artifact in their Gringotts vault.

She wasn't entirely sure that Lucius Malfoy had even really known what it was, except that it had belonged to his master.

She heard that Malfoy had been outraged at the goblin going into his vault, but they had told him that they had been informed by a reliable source that he had something that was forbidden by banking code and once they checked that it turned out to be true. They had refused to name the informant, so Malfoy had no one to vent his ire on and Hermione was glad, as she knew that he could be a rather vengeful bastard.

Malfoy now knew that the diary had been a Horcrux since the goblins had informed him as much. Malfoy had nearly ended up being banned from Gringotts entirely, and it was only because he had genuinely not known what the object was that he wasn't.

Hermione had been told that Malfoy had gone as white as a ghost when he'd heard what the object truly was and had left the bank hurriedly.

Hermione couldn't help but feel pleasure at Malfoy's fear because she knew should Voldemort return Lucius's master would not be pleased with him in the slightest. Luckily, for the Senior Malfoy, Voldemort would not be coming back.

Gideon, Fabian and her had been bonded as soon as possible, within a week actually. They had taken a few days to recover from the battle and Hermione was grateful that both twins had survived as many had not. Quite a few Aurors and Order members had met their end due to Voldemort or one of his Death Eaters. While Hermione knew some of the people that had died she had to admit that she barely knew most of them, as luckily, James and Lily had survived along with the other two Marauders. Dumbledore had also survived along with Minerva McGonagall and Filius Flitwick, but many others had perished. Elphias Doge had met his end along with Marlene McKinnon, Hestia Jones and several others that she only knew very vaguely.

Suddenly Hermione was pulled out of her thoughts because she suddenly felt very queasy and she realized she had been standing near the kitchen for sometimes just lost in what happened six months ago. She didn't usually dwell on the battle, but sometimes when she was alone and she wasn't active enough she couldn't seem to keep the memories at bay. The twins helped with that but they were at work right now, so she had no one to distract her. Still, the Dark Lord was dead and that brought her great comfort. She knew that all the Horcruxes had been found and so there would be no coming back for He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named.

She thought this, even as she hurried into the bathroom as suddenly her queasiness got worse and she was just in time to throw up into the toilet.

Was she falling ill? Hermione wondered. Or was she pregnant?

Hermione hands trembled a little as she took out her wand and performed the spell. The spell came back positive and Hermione knew that she had been right. She was probably just a few weeks pregnant, because she had just had her period about three weeks ago. She knew she needed to go to a professional to have it confirmed, but she just knew she was carrying either Fabian or Gideon's child. Or possibly both.

She couldn't wait to tell the twins, but the question was should she tell them after she had an appointment at St. Mungo's or before. Before, Hermione decided after a few minutes of thought. The twins deserved to know right away and they might want to go with her to appointment with her, though that was unlikely. In the wizarding world it wasn't exactly expected for the father to accompany their wife to a Healer appointment, even when it involved them too. Hermione had to remember that in a lot of ways the wizarding world here in Britain was very old fashioned.

Still, Fabian and Gideon deserved to know before she got an appointment at St. Mungo's, so she would tell them as soon as they got home.

She knew that Molly would also be ecstatic when she learned that she was pregnant, because she knew Molly had been anticipating her fulfilling her promise as soon as Voldemort was gone. Voldemort had been gone for months now although they had taken about a week to recover from the horrific battle.

Hermione wondered briefly if she could be carrying twins and dismissed it as it was unlikely for a first pregnancy. What Hermione forgot to consider was the fact that she was married to a pair of twins so it was more than possible that she was carrying two herself, but she wouldn't know that until she went to St. Mungo's to see a Healer.

Hermione began to fix dinner and it was finished just as the twins came in the door laughing about something.

"So how is our lovely wife?" Both twins asked at the same time grinning from ear to ear.

It was the old joke by now, as they had been doing it ever since the first day they had come home after they had married a year ago and Hermione was getting tired of it, but she could hardly deny the twins the pleasure they got out of saying it.

"I'm fine," Hermione said her expression neutral. "Dinner is ready as soon as you set the table and wash your hands."

The twins knew better then to argue with their wife by this point and they actually kind of enjoyed the daily chore, though they knew that their sister would see them setting the table as the wife's responsibility and not the husband's, but then they knew in some ways their sister was very old-fashioned and this was the 1980s after all. They knew that Hermione came from a more modern time and had grown up in the Muggle world to boot. Apparently, even some men cooked in the Muggle world instead of the women, which would be considered a very unusual thing in the wizarding world. It might even be laughed at if anybody knew that the man was the cook of the family or even helped in the kitchen.

Hermione had told them that the Harry Potter the future was quite the cook, mostly due to his abusive family forcing him to learn, but still it was something he enjoyed once he had been away from his relatives. Still, she had said that plenty men cooked in the Muggle world and some of them were world famous chefs.

They couldn't cook to save their lives, but they didn't mind helping to set the table, something that Hermione was grateful for and it always got them some type of reward so it was well worth it.

The twins went to wash their hands and then returned to set the table, so they could eat.

"I have some news," Hermione finally said over desert.

"What news?" Gideon asked immediately.

"Well, you know we've been trying for the last few months to get me pregnant..." Hermione began.

"You're telling me we finally succeeded?" Fabian asked in excitement.

"We did, though I'll have to go to St. Mungo's to have it confirmed of course," Hermione said. "I thought you deserve to knowing case you wanted to come along."

"Why would we want to come along?" Fabian asked confused.

"Because in the Muggle world it's quite common for the father to be to come along to their wife's appointment. Of course, not every husband agrees with doing that, but a lot of them do. I just thought I'd give you the opportunity."

"I should've known," Fabian said in understanding.

"It might be common in the Muggle world, but it's definitely not in the wizarding one, Mia," Gideon explained. "Even if we went along with you we wouldn't be allowed to be in the same room as you were with the Healer who examining you."

"I know," Hermione sighed. "There're so many things that need to change or we're going to have another Dark Wizard or Witch sometime in the next few decades."

"If you knew why bother to ask?"

"Because I was hoping you would still come along, even if you had to stay in the waiting room," Hermione said. "It's okay, I'll tell you what the Healer says when I get home from my appointment."

The discussion turned to the expected birth in nine months and Hermione could tell that the twins were very excited. He had known they would be excited about the upcoming birth, but she had also known they wouldn't likely agree to come with her to her appointment. Still, the twins were modern in most ways so she couldn't really complain.

The three of them finished dinner and the twins helped do the dishes without complaint before all three of them walked into the living room, where the three of them spent a couple of hours doing their different activities, before they headed to bed.

All three of them were very excited about the fact that they were finally going to have a child of their own and could hardly wait until he or she was born.

~~~Gideon, Hermione, Fabian~~~

Epilogue

11 years later

"Hurry up Daniel, we're going to be late for the train if you don't come on," Hermione called to her oldest son.

"Hurry up, brother or we're going to be late came the voice of Danny's twin sister Emma.

The twins had been the first to be born to Hermione, Fabian and Gideon and Hermione had requested that she be able name them after her parents, even though they weren't really her parents in this time. No, they were the parents of Hermione Granger, instead of Mia Granger-Prewett. Hermione knew that technically, she was the same person as a much younger self, but she looked so different that it wasn't obvious if they ever happened to run into each other. Sure, the similarities were there, but a lot of people had similar features and characteristics. It was pure sophistry Hermione knew, but still that didn't make it any less true.

Fabian and Gideon had agreed easily with that request, knowing that their Mia had loved her parents very much, just as much as they had loved theirs and the names were certainly normal enough.

Despite being twins both Danny and Em were very different from each other. Emma was ultra-organized like her mother and also looked like her with her brown hair, except not as bushy as her mother's and also brown eyes. They also shared a lot of other traits, their keen, intelligent minds, their organizational abilities, their love of reading almost anything they could get their hands on and also of ancient runes and arithmancy.

As for Daniel while he was not unintelligent he could not match his sister or his mother. He had red hair like his fathers, with his mother's brown eyes. Still, he did like to read just not as much as his sister, but was more into physical activities. He also shared his father's more bulky frames and would probably reach their height once he was fully grown, while his sister was more petite like her mother.

"Ah! Why can't I go to Hogwarts?" whined, one of the twins brothers. Her youngest son had been saying much the same thing ever seen the twins had reached the age of 11 and gotten their Hogwarts letters.

"Because you're only six and you still have several years before you can go Eddie," Hermione explained yet again. "Your older sisters aren't complaining, even though I know they're anxious to go to Hogwarts as well."

Over the years Hermione had gotten pregnant four different times. The oldest were of course twins Daniel and Emma Prewett. Her next had been a girl, Gideon and Fabian had agreed to name Ann.

Hermione was only glad that her husbands hadn't come up with anything too unusual that would get the child teased for her name, as it was perfectly normal and common.

Hermione remembered how she had been teased for having such an unusual name, at least an unusual name in her Muggle primary school.

The child after that had been another girl that Hermione had named Minerva after her favorite teacher in her past life, though she was usually called Minnie at home.

Finally there was her youngest son Edward or Eddie.

Four pregnancies was all that Hermione had agreed to. Two children for each of her husbands and they had gotten an extra surprise thanks to the oldest being twins. Still, Hermione knew that of her twins one was Fabian's and the other was Gideon's and they'd had a blood test done to prove this. It didn't really matter to her actually, but she'd been curious.

Fabian had been subtly pointing out for years that he only had two children while his brother had had three. While Hermione could understand the point she had not yet given in to Fabian to have another child just to even the score between her husbands. She knew that there was a friendly competition between the twins and they liked to be even. It wasn't like she didn't have enough to do with five children even with Whippy's help.

Whippy was the house-elf that was bound to both the Weasley and the Prewett families and while he was a great help Hermione still had plenty to do if only because she wouldn't let the house-elf do a lot of things. Whippy's main job was to look after the children, though he did help with the cleaning and other chores when she just didn't have time.

It was an amiable arrangement all around, since Whippy also helped Molly Weasley and her family as well. It was an arrangement that everybody was satisfied with. Hermione knew that she was still young enough to have another child safely, as she was only in her late 30s and now that the oldest two were off to Hogwarts the workload lessened quite a bit.

She would tell Fabian tonight Hermione decided, as she figured they could get started on producing another child since the husband wanted one so much. Hermione was actually hoping for a boy since they had three girls and only two boys.

Molly had been ecstatic when her brothers had had so many daughter's and tended to spoil them rotten when they visited. This child would be quite a bit younger than her son since there would be about seven years age difference between them, but that happened a lot in magical families Hermione knew.

"Are you finally ready to go?" Hermione scolded her son, when Danny finally came downstairs.

"Finally," Emma told her brother turning her nose up at him. "If you had listened to me you would've packed last night."

"Not all of us can be so organized," Daniel said.

Emma simply rolled her eyes of this, because her brother was a mess waiting to happen. He was the sloppiest person she had ever known outside of both her fathers.

"Alright, you two, no more arguments," Hermione said. "We need to get going before we miss the train. Harry will be waiting on you."

Harry was two years older than her twins and so would be in third year while the twins were in first. Still, Harry, Em, Danny and Neville were the best of friends and had been since they were children. It was only natural really, because she was the godmother of Harry and so her children had played with Harry offered particularly her two oldest.

In this timeline the Potters had not died that Halloween night and had had several children to give her once best friend siblings. A long held desire of the other Harry's she knew. As for Harry himself, he had never known starvation or the abuse of the Dursleys. There had been no Philosopher's Stone that Dumbledore had had taken out of Gringotts just as a test for Harry and the basilisk was dead.

When Lily and James had learned that they could've strangled Dumbledore with their bare hands. Luckily, for Dumbledore it hadn't happened yet and wouldn't, but they sure had given him some nasty looks for sometime to come after that, which Dumbledore had borne silently knowing that he more than deserved the nasty looks being thrown at him by both the Potters and the Longbottoms, as well as several other Order members when they saw some of the torture that a child had endured and not only at the hands of his nasty relatives.

The Potter's relationship with Dumbledore still wasn't as good as it had once been and it likely never would be. The Longbottoms of course, were in the same boat and didn't trust the headmaster as much as they once had. Once both families had learned what kind of mistakes had been made in a timeline that no longer existed made both families come to the realization that Dumbledore was capable of making such mistakes. The headmaster's reputation had taken quite a beating among the people that knew what happened in the future.

Thanks to Hermione's actions though, she was godmother to both Harry and Neville. Neville also had several siblings and had grown up with his parents so he wasn't the same boy she remembered from her own timeline.

"Let's go," Daniel said excitedly, as he started to drag his trunk towards the front door.

"There is an easier way," Hermione told her son rolling her eyes at his enthusiasm.

Hermione shrunk both trunks with the flick of her wand and then handed them to both children.

"Put these in your pocket children. You know the spell to re-enlarge them once you get to your new dorm."

The twins did so and then hurried for the front door, as they were taking the car to King's Cross Station.

"Whippy you're in charge while I'm gone," Hermione instructed the house-elf. "You are to take the children to the Burrow and wait for me."

"Yes, Mistress Mia," Whippy answered knowing what was done. "Whippy know what to do."

Hermione wasn't entirely sure what they would do without Whippy in their lives, but luckily, they wouldn't have to find out.

Molly's triplets that had been named Ginevra (Ginny) Adriana (Rian) and Nicia were going to be in their second year, which meant that Danny and Em couldn't wait to see their cousins along with their best friends, since they hadn't seen much of any of them except at Christmas and in the summer for the last year or two. Being separated from their friends was hard on a child especially since they had been only nine when Harry had gone to Hogwarts and ten when their female cousins had.

Hermione knew that Emma had missed her female cousins more than she would have her brother. Most boys did not really associate with females other than their siblings when they were that young or at least weren't usually close friends with them. There were exceptions of course like herself, Harry, and Ron in her original time, but most boys that age thought that girls had cooties.

Finally the house was silent as everybody left. Whippy immediately ushered the other children that weren't old enough to the Floo and instructed them what do.

Most families that had house-elves would never have trusted them to know what to do, as they thought of anybody who was not a pureblood as beneath their notice, but Whippy was treated as a member of the family by both the Weasleys and the Prewetts. What was really telling was the fact that both families trusted the house-elf with the lives of their children and to help them if it was a true emergency like Death Eaters or some of other criminal that was trying to break into the house. Just because most of the Death Eaters were in prison or dead now didn't mean that there weren't still dangerous elements out there.

Finally the house was completely silent as the other children disappeared through the Floo to the Burrow where Grandma Molly would be waiting for them as the Potters and the Longbottoms had offered to take the children to the station along with their own since all of them was such good friends. This happened to work out perfectly because Molly could help look after her brothers children who were too young for Hogwarts yet and it meant that she wouldn't be too lonely with all the children in school for most of the year.

The house almost seemed to breathe a sigh of relief, if a house could be said to do such a thing once the children had left for their grandparents place in Devon.

~~~Gideon, Hermione, Fabian~~~

At the station on Platform 9 3/4

Life had gone on for over a decade now and Hermione smiled pleased, as she watched her children greet their friends and finally step on the train for their first journey away from home.

It was sad in a way but also Hermione knew that it was necessary. She now knew how her parents had probably felt the first time that they had allowed her to go so far away from home and it made her feel closer to them, even though they weren't her parents now, but he younger self's. Both Fabian and Gideon had been right all those years ago when they told her that she couldn't deny herself love or happiness out of a misguided sense that she should remain alone. She was very glad she had listened to them as she had certainly been happy over the last decade then she had been before that.

Hermione watched the train chug along until it was out of sight and finally Apparated to the Burrow where she knew that her children would be having a great time with their grandmother who always spoiled them rotten every time they visited, which was quite frequently.

Hermione smiled, as she heard the sound of children's laughter, as she walked up the path to where the Burrow stood a testament to happier times, that no one else remembered except for herself. Still, there had been many years of laughter and happiness here in this time and that was what Hermione needed to remember instead of a time that didn't exist anymore and technically, never had, except in her memories. She opened the back door and into the kitchen and was immediately greeted by Molly who hugged her.

"Get the kids off alright?" Molly asked, as soon as she had her daughter in every way settled down with a cup of tea.

"Yes, they got off alright and I watched the train chug out of sight," Hermione said, as she took a sip of her soothing tea. "It was so hard to see my oldest go on their first journey away from home."

"Yes, I know exactly how that feels," Molly said nodding. "When the triplets got on the train last year it was so difficult to let them go."

"Well, that hasn't happened to me yet, but I know it won't be long," Hermione sighed. "Let's hope that they have a better time at Hogwarts then me, Harry and Ron did."

"This isn't the same time that you came from, Mia," Molly reminded her gently. "Times are much more peaceful now and that's thanks to you."

"I know," Hermione admitted. "Sometimes I can't help remembering what my own time was like. Things are just so different now than they were around this time originally that sometimes I just have trouble absorbing that fact when I have time to just sit and think. I mean I just fought a war for so long that it's just so hard to believe that things are so different now, even though I brought those changes about. I've been fighting technically, ever since I was 11, even if it wasn't that bad until we were around 16 or 17. I know a lot of that was Dumbledore's inaction, but a lot of it was not. Still, things wouldn't have gotten so bad if he had gotten off his posterior and done something, instead of waiting and seeing what happened."

"Everybody has their faults, but I have to admit I don't understand his inaction," Molly said as she drank her tea.

"Part of it is he's a big picture person and doesn't see the little details that make up that picture," Hermione said. "He didn't have any one to slap him upside the head to make him see reason, to tell him he was doing the wrong thing. Part of the problem is that he doesn't like to admit he made a mistake or at least that was true in my own time. Human beings are fallible and make mistakes all the time, but part of being an adult is admitting to mistakes. That's something that Dumbledore seems incapable of. He's a lot different now than he was in my own time, but that doesn't mean I'll ever fully trust him, just because he's different in this time. It doesn't mean he doesn't possess the same traits."

"I can't blame you for that," Molly said, as she got up to pull herself some more tea.

"I was brought up on stories of how great Dumbledore was, but with what I know now...while I still respect him I know that he's just a man who is fallible."

"Too many people hold him as absolutely infallible and very few people realize that's not true. He's as human and fallible as the rest of us. Still, things are changing slowly and that's what matters. I try to remember that I saved a lot of peoples lives that otherwise would've died by the time I came to Hogwarts."

"It doesn't really do need to dwell on the past all the time," Molly said.

"I usually don't. I think I'm just at the melancholy because my oldest two are off at Hogwarts," Hermione said and Molly nodded in understanding.

"Yes, I know I'm kind of feeling a little sad myself," Molly admitted.

"Empty nest syndrome," Hermione suggested with a slight smile.

"Well, at least I still have some on my brothers children to look after since they are still too young for Hogwarts."

"While that's true it won't be long before they to are off on their first journey away from home," Hermione said smiling just a little sadly.

"Did I ever thank you for what you did for me all those years ago?" Molly asked suddenly. "Thanks to you, I finally got the girls I always wanted."

"I told you at the time that there was no need for thanks. I did it because you were like a mother to me and especially to Harry and that meant the world to me," Hermione said smiling gently.

The two women were silent as they simply shared the warmth of companionship, as they got lost in their own thoughts and remembered times when their children were young.

All was well.


End file.
